Three years ago while couchsurfing across
Eastern Europe, I stayed with a wonderful amazing family in Sofia, Bulgaria.
They told me then of their dream to emigrate to America. Wouldn't it be
wonderful, we mused, if they could work for my mother's business which was
related to theirs. My mother spoke with them and we looked at trying to bring
them over but the process was complicated and costly and they were soon to have
a baby on the way.
Fast forward to the end of 2009 when they received a notice that they had been selected for the Green Card Lottery. A whirling few months later, Orlin, the father, was sleeping in Dan's daughter's twin bed in our little 440 square foot apartment and working for my mother's company.
Ralitza and the kids - 11 year old Vladimir, 5 year old Angelo, and 1 year old Elitza - arrived in Dallas Wednesday night. For now they are staying in an extended stay hotel until they can find a home and start their new life. They've come here with 8 big red suitcases and barely a penny to their names.
I'm wondering if any of you out there in the Dallas community might have things to spare? A bag set aside for good will in the back closet, or those old kids clothes boxes you keep meaning to go through? They need everything from forks to furniture, toys and clothes for the children, bikes to get around until a bank will lend them money for a car (hard to explain to them "credit crisis" in America), towels, shower curtains, dishes, pots, all the basic essentials of life.
If you can contribute, please email me at [email protected]. We'll be happy to pick up donations anywhere. We'll be hunting these next weeks for the right schools and neighborhood so it will give us a good excuse to explore.
You can see the story of my time with them to the left ("The Ties That Bind") and pictures in the Bulgaria photo album to the right.
On a side note, I can't imagine the courage it takes to bring a family of small children to a foreign country to start a new life. While I don't like many of the things happening in our country right now, it is a stark reminder of how great this country is and that each of us must participate to keep it that way.
Thank you for reading.
Sherry
Fast forward to the end of 2009 when they received a notice that they had been selected for the Green Card Lottery. A whirling few months later, Orlin, the father, was sleeping in Dan's daughter's twin bed in our little 440 square foot apartment and working for my mother's company.
Ralitza and the kids - 11 year old Vladimir, 5 year old Angelo, and 1 year old Elitza - arrived in Dallas Wednesday night. For now they are staying in an extended stay hotel until they can find a home and start their new life. They've come here with 8 big red suitcases and barely a penny to their names.
I'm wondering if any of you out there in the Dallas community might have things to spare? A bag set aside for good will in the back closet, or those old kids clothes boxes you keep meaning to go through? They need everything from forks to furniture, toys and clothes for the children, bikes to get around until a bank will lend them money for a car (hard to explain to them "credit crisis" in America), towels, shower curtains, dishes, pots, all the basic essentials of life.
If you can contribute, please email me at [email protected]. We'll be happy to pick up donations anywhere. We'll be hunting these next weeks for the right schools and neighborhood so it will give us a good excuse to explore.
You can see the story of my time with them to the left ("The Ties That Bind") and pictures in the Bulgaria photo album to the right.
On a side note, I can't imagine the courage it takes to bring a family of small children to a foreign country to start a new life. While I don't like many of the things happening in our country right now, it is a stark reminder of how great this country is and that each of us must participate to keep it that way.
Thank you for reading.
Sherry
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