Refugee Ministry 

"Express the Gospel in concrete terms and take in a family of refugees"  - Pope Francis, September 4, 2016

The Refugee Resettlement Story in our collaborative began in December 2016. There is a booklet that chronicles the journey of the collaborative as it organized to welcome a refugee family from Sudan. This family arrived in August 2017 and are Komi, Huda, Paul, Mansy, Nofak, and - born in December 2017 - Ann.

The booklet (click here) was written by Jim Allaire and describes all the organizing activities that the collaborative participated in to welcome the family to Massachusetts, as well as many wonderful pictures of the family with the team.

Over three and a half years, six teams met monthly or weekly and were responsible for housing, publicity, fundraising, pre-arrival, hospitality, arrival, and post-arrival.

As we reflect on our journey together, we know there are so many special moments we truly cherish!

The first year - the family arriving at Logan Airport - with Komi's sister Samia and her family with us to greet them. The Allaires then hosting the family until their new home in Roxbury was ready for them. The Daggetts working diligently to gather furniture needed in the home and Anne Fitzgerald orchestrating the signing up for benefits and schooling at the local offices in Dudley (now Nubian) Square.  

Sightseeing quickly was at the top of the agenda with trips to Walden Pond with Carolyn Dobies and Castle Island with Anne Fitzgerald. The annual picnic at Our Lady's with Mansy at the ice cream table and Nofak riding the pony!  

Meanwhile, Anne Campbell organizing tutors for the family with BC students and newly helpful Matt Maughan and Lisa Majewski connecting with the school for assignments for both Paul and Mansy. 

The biggest event that first year was the birth of baby Ann - celebrating at Sacred Heart in January, the Collaborative welcomed Ann and the family with food, fun, and well wishes - and a special blessing from Fr. Dan.

Spring and Fall 2018 saw volunteers from the parishes driving the family to and from Lincoln to support Susan Winship's wonderful Sudanese program there. Volunteers also drove family members to and from medical appointments - Carolyn Dobies front and center with Mansy’s operation and Janet Kuklinski caring for Huda with her medical treatments - and also to and from employment interviews - Peter Metz working his connections in the food industry to try and get jobs for both Huda and Komi.

All calls for clothing and food were answered - Janet Kuklinski made monthly trips to the Newton Food Pantry. And the family loved seeing Anne Fitzgerald come in with all the various clothes for the children; she collected from folks in the parishes and also at Bishop Forest and at the Brandeis Chapel.

Very generous parishioners also bought Paul a bicycle - and little did we know that Paul knows everything there is to know about bicycles - he could work for Landry’s for sure! 

A request for a computer resulted in 3! And while they were totally in use by all members of the family, it is really amazing now to see 2-year-old Ann on her laptop! This is definitely a tech family - thanks to all who have helped to make them so literate! And of course they have their Chromebooks for school!   


The highlight for the collaborative of course was the Sacraments of Initiation that Fr. Dan celebrated with the family and godparents Jim and Barbara Allaire. This was truly an incredible ceremony, initiated at the request of Huda and also participated in by Komi who volunteered to go completely into the Baptismal font. None of this could have happened without Rosemary, Chris, Margaret, Barbara, and so many who prayed with us all on that very beautiful day. We know the family has joined the Catholic Church and will be blessed in the days ahead. 

A third year in Roxbury was supported again by the incredible donations from parishioners, which enabled Paul to graduate from his school and the children to stay put in their home during this terrible virus. Huda developed a serious lung condition, and Janet quickly stepped up and connected with all the pulmonary specialists at BMC. Benefits were initially uncertain as the virus traveled - all now brought paper products to the team meetings and helped with whatever the family needed. 

In February, Komi decided to travel to Arizona and obtain a driver’s license, buy a car, and, in May, begin employment in Scarborough, ME. He was driving back and forth to Boston when Gail Doherty volunteered her friends in Maine who generously gave their apartment to Komi for a month while he looked for a family home for Huda and the children.

Bob Gill has been our real estate expert, working with Komi and Barbara and Margaret and Ann, to try and find an apartment that would work in Maine for the family. After many days and hours, an apartment was located outside Portland and the family moved there on June 28!

Fundraising was no longer needed and, with $5000 left in the account, the team decided with the help of Mike Bliss that the monies would be best situated with Barbara Allaire and used for what was needed in the apartment in Maine. Barbara quickly worked with Huda to buy a washer and dryer, some new couches and beds, and oil for the winter months! The Catholic Charities bill was also paid off, so, with some monies left now, the Komis are set in their new home in Maine. The team was able to see the new apartment via a Zoom call last week and feel confident that the family is doing well and enjoying their new surroundings.

None of the above would have happened without the incredible generosity, love and care from the parishioners at Sacred Heart and Our Lady's - and all who have in any way contributed to the wellbeing of the Komi family. 

We are so blessed to have made this journey with this family and offer many thanks to God for sending the Komis here to us and for you who have been so kind, so generous, so giving over these last three and a half years. 

The journey continues for the Komis, and we know we will be hearing about the family and their progress in Maine. 

So many, many thanks from The Refugee Ministry!