From the Congo to Chicaog all via the Computer!

With much delight, Makanja applied for and received a Chicago library card today. He was so pleased as he realizes it will open some doorways for him. His first request was to learn to use a computer. 

Although he found the "mouse" a bit tricky at first, he soon caught on. We roamed the internet. We saw photos of the Tanzanian Refugee Camp where he lived and through the photos, he explained the camp to us. We saw the Congolese village of his birth. It is beautiful; the terrain is amazing, it's both hilly and flat. He showed us the lake that the Congolese need to cross over to escape to Tanzania when there is a war.  He found a photo of one of his paternal uncles and a cousin who still live in "Fizzi Town", in the Congo. 

We're not sure what moved Makanja more today, for once, being our teacher or seeing his birth country and the refugee camp he only left only 4 months ago.

When we asked, he told us that he misses the many people that he left behind, but he is so proud to be in America and hopes his remaining family will also be able to come.

Jackie and Gary Cohen

Our Refugee Family: Read about here!

It has been a busy summer for Agnes, George, Daniel and Jennie.

George attended ETHS summer school for six weeks and then participated in the Y Achievers Program through the McGraw YMCA Evanston. The program provides tutors from Northwestern University, social worker interns from the University of Chicago and community volunteers to a ensure successful high school and continuing academic or vocational education. George is entering ETHS this fall as a sophomore.

Jennie, Daniel and George

Daniel and Jennie attended summer school at Nichols Middle School Evanston and, in the afternoon, attended a free summer day camp where they went on weekly field trips. They auditioned for the Evanston Children’s Choir, they will begin rehearsals in the fall. Daniel will enter 8^th grade and Jennie will enter 6^th.

Agnes continues her work in housekeeping at Evanston Hospital in the afternoon/evening shift. We are working to get her changed to the morning shift so that she can be with the children in the evening. Agnes completed the paperwork required to obtain a green card and we took them to be fingerprinted. Agnes should receive her green card in a few months.

 

Agnes and her family!

Agnes and her family celebrated their first 4^th of July fireworks … a joyful celebration for them. We took them on field trips to swimming pools and Six Flags. They went to a dentist and an optometrist. George and Jennie were fitted with glasses. We had their bikes repaired and bought them new backpacks and school supplies. Their backpacks are packed and they are excited for their first day of school!

Occasionally we needs supplies for our family so check back here to see what they may need. Can't wait to see what the year brings

Susan Gottlieb on behalf of the Lakeside Social Action committee

On Charlottesville

From Rabbi Isaac Serotta

The tradition tells us that the ancient city of Jerusalem was destroyed because of "baseless hatred." As I saw images of people carrying torches, brandishing swastikas and waving confederate flags in Charlottesville this past weekend, it reminded me that people often have a baseless hatred of those that they do not know or understand. Just as Judaism teaches that this baseless hatred led to the destruction of Jerusalem, it is corroding and destroying our society as well.

Our thoughts and prayers are surely with those who were injured, and with their families, and the families dealing with the murder of loved ones in an act of blind hatred in Charlottesville. We should also take note that bigoted hate speech has turned into brutal attacks over the last few months. Hate crimes have increased against Jews, Muslims, African Americans, immigrants of all kinds, LGBTQ people, and women, so this is not an isolated incident.

The president’s first reaction, to blame individuals on “many sides,” does nothing to put an end to this violence. When it comes to ignorance, bigotry, and violence, there are not “many sides.” In tacitly accepting the support of racists to achieve a narrow political victory, the president turned over a rock that no politician wanted to touch. What has crawled out from beneath that rock is what we saw in Charlottesville.

At Lakeside we are going to be doing a lot in coming days and months to make sure we understand what is happening and how we can help to reduce ignorance and the bigotry that allows hatred to flourish. I will be heading to Washington D.C. in a few days along with thousands of members of the clergy from across the country to stand against violence and for civil rights. I will speak about it from the pulpit, and we are dedicating our Scholar-in-Residence weekend and some Sunday morning programs to counteracting hate and hate crimes.

Reducing ignorance will help reduce hatred. The hope of Judaism remains that Jerusalem will one day fulfill the meaning of its name; that it will become Ir Shalom, the city of peace. That remains the goal in our nation as well, that we will judge people by the content of their character, that baseless hatred will end, and Charlottesville, and every town across the country can be a haven and stronghold of peace.

August 2017 Visit with Makandja and Bobasha

The highlight of today's visit was to present a bicycle to Makandja and Bobasha which was donated by Roberta Heinrich. Smiles and joy radiated from both men. The bike was immediately test driven by both men, who gave their experiences a double thumbs up. (Unfortunately, I left my phone charging at home, so I was unable to get a photo to include.) Even though the bike came with a lock, Bobasha insisted it be kept in the apartment for safe keeping. The men are delighted that they can use the bike to get to some places rather than their dependency on the Chicago bus system. 

We located the nearest library and plan a return visit to apply for library cards and explore all of its offerings.

To date, the men have not found a nearby full service grocery store. Thus far, volunteers have driven them to chain stores to stock up. There is one small market that we found today within a couple of blocks of the men's apartment that they can use for convenience items.

Jackie Cohen

Who eats chocolate in the Congo? Read on!

Sunday evening 7/30/17: Brad and I drove to Albany Park to drop off some items that Marcie had left for them. We were welcomed by Makandja who introduced us to three friends.  One was a young lady from their camp named Abby who was sitting still at the kitchen table as Bobasha skillfully attached curly hair extensions to Abby’s hair.  The other young men listened to Congolese music while chatting. There was a clear sense of happiness and camaraderie, and …the apartment was  quite clean!  (Thanks to Jackie and Gary who have worked miracles. ) We asked if they had dinner, and when they said they hadn’t, we decided to take them to a Taco restaurant in Albany Park called T&B ( tacos and burgers). While there, we practiced ordering food, Bwya, Makandja, Bobasha had never tried Tacos. I showed them recipes and pictures, and hope to cook with them in the near future.  An assortment of chicken, vegetarian and fish tacos were brought to the table, as well as cheese burgers ordered by Makandja and Bobasha.  Everyone sampled the different choices but it was clear that the all time favorite food was guacamole and chips as well as

french fries.  As much as we love our Chocolate, it is not high on the list with our Congolese friends. Ruti, who joined us for dessert, explained that adults don’t eat chocolate in Congo, only children.  (There’s a little tidbit we didn’t know before!)

New experiences in a new place!

Today's visit with Bobasha and Makandja was jam packed. We started out discussing American currency. The lesson was a review for Makandja, and a fun initiation for Bobasha. They seemed to take a lot of pleasure identifying coins and paper money and doing the math for some mock purchases and trying to stump their teachers.

Gary demonstrated to the men when and how to use deodorant. Both Makandja and Bobasha have small neatly trimmed beards, and aren't too interested in shaving, but they got a kick out of learning about shaving cream and razors.

The four of us spent time cleaning the kitchen. Makandja started calling me "mom", when I insisted the entire kitchen be cleaned. (Seems like Bobasha and his attitude towards cleaning is like most young men with their first apartment.)

Going grocery shopping was our next adventure. Fresh fruit is very high on their list, as is meat and fish. The cashier at the store was fascinated by the men and went out of his way to accommodate them.