My Refugee Friends

Even after I started working for a local non-profit in Denver– my heart for international development did not go away, and I still wanted to be involved somehow. I definitely missed the whole cross-cultural element of my previous job. When I learned of an opportunity to be a mentor for a refugee family that was being resettled in Denver I was so excited!


Refugees are people who have been forced to flee their home country because of a well-founded fear of persecution, due to race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group. Often times they are fleeing war and violence – events that are traumatizing. The family that my mentor team gets to be friends with is from Burma – a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is a country I’ve always been fascinated with – and closely followed what’s going on with the brutal dictatorship there.

Our family – the “Reh’s”- were living in a refugee camp in Thailand until they were officially resettled in the United States in November by Lutheran Family Services (LFS). Talk about culture shock – can you imagine growing up in a refugee camp in very primitive conditions and then in a matter of days being put on an airplane and being moved to the cold, wintery weather of Denver? Never having used a stove or maybe even had running water?? I wish I could know what was going through their minds as we met them at the airport. The three kids were of course smiling and happy, but their parents looked tired and weary. They didn’t know a word of English – and probably wondered why there was a welcoming crew at the airport for them! We drove them to their apartment that we had set up, along with their case manager (who speaks Burmese fluently), and they started on their new journey as U.S. Residents.

It’s not easy being a refugee in the United States. There are a lot of overwhelming experiences all at once! Thankfully the case managers at LFS help the family with all the logistical/financial arrangements. The mentor team which I’m a part of, is tasked with “cultural orientation” and basically just being their friend. The Reh family has experienced grocery shopping, pizza, baking cookies, English lessons, and just “hanging out” with us. It’s not easy – even 4.5 months in they have limited English skills – but it’s been exciting seeing the kids talk more and more each week. And their smiles and laughs at us crazy Americans makes it all worthwhile. Next week the kids will get to experience their first MLB baseball game – pictures to come!