Food and Medical Assistance
Day 28
Food cards arrived in the mail today! As one of our team members was attempting to explain the card and its usage to the family a 7th grade bilingual Burmese boy walked in. He was able to interpret some of the details simplifying the conversation. I often point out that interpreters are not necessary for many of the day-to-day tasks, but their presence sure does speed things up and, most of the time, helps reduce the potential for confusion.
Besides the food card, their Forward card arrived too. The Forward card is medical assistance provided by the State of Wisconsin. Now medical appointments will become a little easier because these are presented just like insurance cards in advance of treatment.
One more family member had a medical checkup and immunizations today. That means four down, four to go.
On a completely different subject I would like to mention that Bryn and I were out of town this past weekend. I point this out because it is important in any resettlement team that the team members are able to get away a various times.
One of the biggest problems we see in resettlement efforts of other groups is that too few people try to do too much for too long. This results in burn-out. That’s not good for the refugees. It’s not good for the volunteers. It’s not good for the process because those volunteers are likely give up after the experience.
If you’ve got a big team, trust the team members to handle things while you’re away. If you’ve got a small team, trust that the refugees can be on their own for a few days. You need a break too.
