ASHEVILLE — Refugees fleeing religious persecution in Eastern Europe are finding a new home in Asheville, thanks to a new program of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
Catholic Charities has resettled 38 refugees since July 1 from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine through its Remote Placement Program, a joint partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department that is an expansion of its existing refugee resettlement program in Charlotte.
The Asheville refugees are a bit different than the typical refugees its Charlotte office assists, however: most have family members already here who can help them when they arrive.
“Each of these refugees is coming to the U.S. because a family member completed an affidavit of relationship through the Lautenberg Program, a program that began in 1989 to help someone living in the U.S. to bring over a relative living in the former Soviet Union,” said Susan Jassan, program director for Catholic Charities.
Catholic Charities expects to assist a total of 99 refugees with this program by the end of November.
The federal Lautenberg Program is now closed, Jassan added, but there is a possibility it could reopen in January.
Staff in Catholic Charities’ Asheville office are busy assisting the recent refugees with basic services including cultural orientation, completing legal paperwork, signing up for English classes, registering children for school, setting up medical appointments, and helping them with housing, food and clothing assistance when needed.
“Last week we had six families arrive on the same day!” said Marina Gundorin, immigration supervisor for the Asheville office. “It was very crazy. The first flight arrived around 1:45 p.m. (Aug. 23) and the last flight came in around midnight.”
In many cases, Catholic Charities staff are present when the refugees arrive at the Asheville airport. In other cases, the refugees’ American relatives help them when they step off the plane.
The Kulbeda family arrived Aug. 20 from Belarus. The family of six led by mother Liudmila, 31, and her husband, Aleh, 33, sought a better life for their four children, who are aged 2-9. They are Pentecostal Christians reuniting with their family, fleeing religious persecution at home, and have waited two years to come to the U.S.
Liudmila’s grandparents, whom they had not seen for 10 years, served as their family connection for their refugee application and are currently providing them with a place to live. They were able to bring only one bag per person on their flight to the U.S., so they are starting over from scratch.
“We are very happy to be here with family,” they said through interpreter Marina Gundorin. “There are a lot of new things to learn.”
The Kulbedas were thrilled that there is a community of similar refugees already in Asheville and that Catholic Charities staff spoke their language.
“When you come to a new, unknown place where you do not understand anything and all of a sudden someone speaks and you understand! That’s huge! And then they help you!
“We felt a lot of support and encouragement from the office,” they said.
The Kulbeda children began elementary school with the other children in their area Aug. 29, but unlike their classmates they do not yet speak English. Special accommodations for English as a Second Language classes are being made for them.
“So (the) parents are very worried and anxious about the kids,” Gundorin explained.
Catholic Charities was able to provide three backpacks and school supplies for the children to help ease their transition.
The universal language of toys seems to be a big hit with the children so far.
“They especially like all the toys that they have never seen before,” Liudmila said.
Aleh, the father, is a carpenter and hopes to find employment quickly.
When asked what he and Liudmila hope for their family, Aleh replied, “to learn English and have our own, safe home.” They also hope someday to afford a washer and a dryer to do their laundry.
Asheville has a housing shortage, Gundorin explained, with a 98 percent occupancy rate, which means “it’s a tremendous challenge to find an apartment or anything to rent, so for right now, they are living with grandparents.”
Still, Gundorin said, she is very pleased with the larger Asheville community’s reception of the new arrivals.
“We have so much community support,” she said.
“This program is prompting us to make partnerships in the community. The Department of Social Services, the local community, medical community, college community – all have partnered with us.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Pictured: Three members of the Pavlov family arrived from Ukraine at the Asheville airport Aug. 23. Serhii, Svitlana and their daughter Milana joined members of their extended family who have moved to the U.S. for a better life. Serhii’s brother applied to bring the young family to the U.S. (Photo provided by Kelly Matsey)
CHARLOTTE — It’s summer, and that means lots of summer camps. In the Diocese of Charlotte, summer is also the season for Totus Tuus.
Now in its sixth year in the diocese, Totus Tuus summer camps are dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith to children in rising first grade through the 12th grade through catechesis, evangelization, Christian witness and Eucharistic worship. “Totus Tuus,” a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours,” was the motto of St. John Paul II. Taken from St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary,” it signifies the desire to give oneself entirely to Jesus Christ through Mary.
One of the 18 parishes participating in Totus Tuus this summer has been St. Thomas Aquinas Church, which held its faith-filled summer camp for kids on July 10-15.
This year’s theme in all the parishes, including St. Thomas Aquinas, has been about “Prayer and the Our Father.” There has also been an emphasis on the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary.
As in other parishes, the program at St. Thomas Aquinas has grown in participants and volunteers since its first year. Coordinated by Sister Edeva Jover, parish youth ministry director, this year’s summer camp included more than 50 children.
Totus Tuus inspires the parish youth, Sister Edeva said. “The kids want to go to Mass and experience Holy Hour.”
Sarah Booles, a Totus Tuus participant and rising 10th-grader, describes the program as a mixture of fun and growing in faith.
“I look forward to our group discussions,” Booles said. “It’s enlightening.”
She and fellow participants Valentina Morales, Josie Peplinski and Katheryn Ryan agreed that Totus Tuus gave them a chance to learn more about Christ.
Totus Tuus also provides a unique opportunity for college students to become missionaries, of a sort. Catechists, grouped into teams of two young men and two young women, lead the week-long camp at each parish, teaching and inspiring the parish’s youth.
This year three teams of catechists traveled around the 18 parishes over the seven weeks when Totus Tuus camps have been offered.
One of those catechists was Mary Grace Bergen, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. She describes Totus Tuus as a combination of Christian witness and one’s own experience in faith, mixing Bible stories, prayers, Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, games, songs and more into interactive lessons that encourage kids to deepen their faith.
“I want to provide a better understanding of what the Catholic Church is,” Bergen said, “the one Church Jesus established, that is continuously growing and thriving.”
The mission of the program is to inspire youth to make their faith “totally yours,” she said.
— Rachel McKimmon, Correspondent