Restoring Dignity Home Makeover #37
Saturday, November 14th, 2020
“Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.”
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Their Story
Twenty five years ago, a beautiful baby girl was born in Karen State, Burma. Her parents were farmers and lived a quiet life, raising animals and vegetables for food. Before she turned one year old, however, things took a dark turn for her family. The Burmese army attacked her village, and her parents were forced to flee across the border to Thailand. There they found themselves living in a refugee camp, with no opportunity to work, and little food. She grew up only knowing her surroundings as being normal. For four years, she was able to attend school, but then the educational opportunities disappeared. She met her husband at 16 years old and they got married, hoping to raise children and embrace whatever happiness they could find. First came a baby girl who they loved and cherished, and soon after, they found out that they were pregnant again. However, one and half years into their marriage, she received devastating news: her husband had drowned in a nearby river. Picking up every ounce of strength, she pressed forward and raised their two children by herself. Years later, she married another man, and they had a baby girl. Shortly after giving birth, she received the most exciting and scary news: her family had been chosen to be resettled as refugees in America. Terrified to leave her entire family behind, but determined to give her children a better life, she agreed to leaving the camp and forging a new path, in a foreign country. She, her husband, and her three children boarded a plane and landed in St. Paul, Minnesota. After about three months of living there, they wanted to be closer to a larger Karen community, and heard about Omaha, Nebraska having more affordable housing and better jobs. They took the plunge and found themselves in a two bedroom apartment that was within walking distance to the children’s school. Things seemed to be looking up, and then more tragedy struck. Her husband was introduced to drugs and quickly fell into a violent addiction. Two months ago, he left abruptly, telling her that he will never be back. He moved back to St. Paul, to live with his family. For two months, she lived alone with her kids, with no job, no support, and no idea of who to contact. Her landlord came to find out why she was two months late on rent, and found out about her situation. Restoring Dignity was contacted, and we immediately intervened, getting multiple social service agencies involved. After meeting with her, we discussed the possibility of a home-makeover, to help her family get back on their feet. She expressed that she was very excited and would be honored to have volunteers come in and bring herself and her children what they need. On Saturday, November 14th, 2020, we will be partnering with Relevant Community Church to do a home-makeover, and to bring this family furniture, household items and hope. This is our first home-makeover during a pandemic, and we are taking every precaution to make sure that volunteers are safe, including: mandatory masks, face shields, gloves, limits on how many people can be in one room, and all windows will be open for the entirety of the project. Join us as we aim to help provide this family with what they need to get onto a firm footing here in Omaha.The Home
The Solution
We are taking action on Saturday, November 14th, 2020 to provide this family with much-needed household, cleaning and organizational items.Supplies Needed
Please sign-up for items you will donate on our donation sign-up page.
Donation Drop-Off: All items can be dropped off at: Restoring Dignity Storage Unit Lockbox Storage 301 S. 74th Street Omaha, NE, 68114 Drop-Off Times: Tuesday, October 27th, 2020 5:30pm-7:30pm Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 5:30pm-7:30pm Or they can be dropped off at: Relevant Community Church 21220 Elkhorn Dr, Elkhorn, NE 68022 Drop-Off Times: Monday-Thursday 9:00am-5:00pm **If you have a large donation and need to drop off items at a different time, please email: info@rdomaha.org **All items need to be dropped off by Tuesday, November 10th, 2020**Volunteers Needed
Relevant Community Church is providing all volunteers for this home-makeover.How to Get Involved:
- Donate items:
- Donate financially:
- Spread the word:
