Volunteer helps refugees adjust to new life

Kathy Fuhrman admits she was reluctant to befriend a refugee family.

A staff member at North Central College in Naperville, Fuhrman signed up for World Relief's tutor training to help refugees with English, but was more hesitant when she heard about the Friendship Partner program.

She wasn't sure how she felt about making a long-term commitment to go into the home of a stranger from another land to tutor, mentor and otherwise help them adjust to life in the United States.

"I was really afraid and nervous about it," she said.

After a year of prayer, she decided she could put together a Good Neighbor Kit of linens and other items to welcome a refugee family to their new home in Aurora.

After delivering the kit and meeting the Labrador-Garrido family from Cuba, Fuhrman knew she wanted to do more. That was the beginning of a two-year relationship that continues today.

It was awkward at first, Fuhrman recalls. She and her husband, Roger, went two evenings a week to tutor Yanary Labrador and her husband, Rey Garrido, in English.

As refugees, the couple were required to take English classes during the day and the Fuhrmans would work with them on what they learned. Yanary spoke little English when she came; Rey spoke none. The couple had a 4-year-old daughter, Amanda.

"It probably took at least a month before it felt more comfortable," Fuhrman said.

Gradually, awkwardness gave way to friendship. Apart from the tutoring sessions, the Fuhrmans spent other time with the family -- taking them shopping, answering questions, introducing them to members of their church.

Yanary started to tell Fuhrman about her life.

"As we heard their stories and their difficulties, that just made us appreciate our strengths in America and want to help them," Fuhrman said.

Because Rey had criticized the government in Cuba, his documents were taken away and he had been unable to earn a living. Yanary had been a nurse in her native country, but was unable to work as a nurse here because the Cuban government refused to release records of her education.

They had arrived safely in the United States with the help of the International Organization of Migration, but left their extended families behind. Like many Cubans, the family had lived with relatives -- Yanary's mother and grandparents.

Yanary recalls how lonely it was: "I have a radio. It's lonely. Kathy comes to my house two days a week."

Shortly after their arrival, Fuhrman took them to the library to open an e-mail account so they could communicate with their families.

With the help of World Relief, Yanary and Rey obtained jobs. Rey works in a factory in Montgomery. Yanary works in a nursing home where she started in the laundry, moved to the activities department and, after an intensive eight-week class at Waubonsee Community College, became a certified nursing assistant.

Yanary said she may work to become a licensed practical nurse.

"I think, in my job, they love me, too," she said.

With the help of another North Central College staff member, Yanary and her husband already own their home.

Desiree Guzman, assistant director of ministry and service, and her husband, Rick, invited the family to live in their finished basement for a year.

Each month, the Cuban family put money aside they would have paid in rent to go toward the down payment on a home. They moved to their new house in Montgomery in July.

Guzman, a former World Relief staff member, said she considers home ownership a key to refugee families successfully putting down roots. She and her husband are raising money to purchase an apartment house that would help other families work toward home ownership.

Like Fuhrman, the Guzmans' involvement with refugees started by becoming a Friendship Partner with a family from Africa.

"Through them, we met other refugees," Guzman said. "We just really feel blessed by the relationships we've made with people from all over the world."

Refugees who have suffered many hardships have much to teach Americans, Guzman said.

"They teach us a lot about perseverance and hope," she said.

World Relief settled 160 refugees in the Aurora area between October 2006 and this September, said Hayley Meksi, settlement director at World Relief Aurora.

The organization tries to pair each family with a Friendship Partner. Several students at North Central College have become involved with the program.

"It provides a level of friendship that can be hard for a newcomer in this country to find," Meksi said. "To have an American friend in your home can build the language more quickly."

Having the support of a friend also can help refugees overcome a past that may have included persecution, torture and war, Meksi said.

"Clients have gone through horrific things in the past," she said. "Having a Friendship Partner can make all the difference in the world."

Meksi said Friendship Partners are asked to make a minimum commitment to visit their family once a week for three to six months. But many relationships extend beyond that.

"It's a life-changing experience," she said.

It has been for Fuhrman and Yanary. Fuhrman, an Aurora resident, said she didn't even know refugees were being settled in Aurora until she met Guzman. She now considers Yanary a friend that she'll keep forever and tutors Yanary's daughter, who is 6 and in school.

Yanary continues to turn to Fuhrman for advice and consults her on items she receives in the mail that she doesn't understand.

"If she says it's a good idea, I know I can do it," she said.

Fuhrman also has encouraged her to fulfill her dreams and goals, Yanary said.

"Everything you think is not possible, here you can do it," she said.

To volunteer

Area residents interested in becoming a Friendship Partner to a refugee family may contact World Relief.

• World Relief Aurora, (630) 906-9546, ext. 51

• World Relief DuPage County, (630) 462-7566, ext. 25