Translation of a thank-you letter from Daphnée C. to the Refugee Welcome Network, translated from French to English:
“Acknowledgement is the heart’s memory‘’
“It is with so much love that I express my gratitude to everyone who have supported me during my difficult times (“terrible situation”), and who have held me in your hearts and still do. Without you I wouldn’t have known what to do. It’s by going through these difficulties that I realize the real family isn’t your biological family, but those who hold your hand during the hard times.
Truly, you who have embraced my son Windsor and me in your hearts without expecting anything, will be blessed by God in return a hundred-fold. You have done everything from love, with no restraint.
In thinking about the situation that I have encountered, I tell myself that you are my only family here. You have done everything for us, Windsor and me, so that we could be comfortable.
In conclusion, I would like to tell you: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart that forms a beautiful flower bouquet.” Thank you very much to each and every one of you who has given a flower to form this bouquet.”
– DAPHNÉE C. and WINDSOR
It Takes a Village
“It takes a village” to prepare for the birth of a baby to be born among the refugees being helped by the Refugee Welcome Network (RWN), a collaborative program under the auspices of the Hagerstown Area Religious Coalition (HARC). The mother, a Haitian refugee with a year-old son, has been housed in an apartment whose bare windows are now covered in curtains donated by a member of HARC President Rev. Christopher Serufusa’s church – St. Andrew’s United Methodist, and blinds donated by HARC volunteer Ashlee Harris, owner of Blinds by Ash and representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and hung by her employee, Joveneil DaSilva (pictured). Baby clothes, toys, care items and furniture were also donated by RWN members. All of this was coordinated by Paulette Lee, a strong and caring “family ally” who advocates for Daphnée and gives her an anchor of friendship. Thank you to ALL to have contributed to the stability of this family and other families served by the RWN.
