Dear friend,
This has been an extremely challenging year for St. Vincent Catholic Charities, given not only the pandemic, but also the recent decision to pause services at our Children’s Home. However, STVCC’s FIVE remaining programs are still impacting lives and need your support today!
One of those programs is Refugee Services. STVCC is the only refugee resettlement agency in mid-Michigan. Our Refugee Services assist with the essentials to welcome refugees to the community and help them reach self-sufficiency.
“My family got into the U.S. and then to Lansing under the benevolent umbrella of St. Vincent Catholic Charities, and here I am now.”
STVCC’s Case Management Coordinator, Yadu Baral, started his journey with STVCC as a refugee client. He is now making a difference in others’ lives working for the same program that helped him resettle in America!
Friend, help STVCC continue to resettle refugees like Yadu with a gift.
Yadu is from Bhutan, but due to civil unrest and ethnic persecution, he and his family were forced out of their homes. They lived in Nepal in a refugee camp for nearly two decades. Yadu reflected on his time there: “Living under bamboo huts with plastic roofs in extreme climatic condition, insufficient food items, lack of medical services, no proper sanitation arrangement, and so on were components of everyday life.” It was hard for him to remain hopeful that they would one day live a better life, but he tried his best.
Eventually, his hopes would become reality when Yadu and his family learned of the resettlement opportunity STVCC could offer them. Within just a few months, Yadu and his family were in the United States, and shortly afterward living in Lansing.
“My family didn’t want to miss any opportunity that we never got for the two decades.”
Since arriving in the U.S., Yadu has been active in his community and helps others. He accepted employment with STVCC as a Case Management Coordinator, became an entrepreneur, invested in some business ventures, and recently received the “Americanism” Award for new American immigrants.
Yadu’s story is a fantastic reminder that STVCC is constantly transforming lives through our many programs: Adoption and Foster Care services, Refugee Services, an Immigration Law Clinic, and Counseling Services.
YOU can help us continue to provide these quality, life-changing services to your community by making a gift today!
Despite the pandemic and some of the recent changes at STVCC, I want you to know that your donations are still making a profound impact on the community. The most vulnerable are still being helped through our programs, and lives are being transformed. Thank you for your continued support, which makes our work possible.
With a grateful heart,
Andrea E. Seyka, CEO