Ardmore church welcomes the stranger with transitional home for refugees
When Osman Ali arrived in the U.S. on April 5 he was truly a stranger in a strange land.
The 27-year-old native of Sudan knew no one, and spoke a different language.
Thanks to a new mission project launched by Ardmore Presbyterian Church in partnership with St. George’s Episcopal Church, Ali did not remain a stranger for long.
He received a warm welcome at First Place, a transitional home for legal refugees located in a two-story, three-bedroom twin the church is leasing in Ardmore. First Place provides temporary housing while resettlement agencies help refugees secure long-term accommodations.
A network of supportive volunteers from APC, St. George’s, Bethel AME and Old Haverford Friends Meeting brought Ali food and clothing. They are helping him navigate his new environment, and coach him in English to supplement classes he is taking through the resettlement agency HIAS.
One volunteer drives Ali, who is Muslim, to an area mosque on Fridays for worship.
Neighbors in the community have been supportive and welcoming.
Ali said he fled his country in 2008 to escape violent conflict. He spent four years in Libya then traveled to Ghana, where he registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Five years passed before Ali was approved for resettlement in the U.S.
Ali said last week with enthusiasm that he likes the U.S. and, “I thank God, I thank God for everything He’s given me.”
The first guest, a 28-year-old Iraqi refugee named Hayder, arrived in February. Hayder had served as an interpreter for the U.S. military, a position that subsequently put him in the cross hairs of anti-U.S. militias.
“There were constant threats and danger of kidnapping,” said Sturgis Poorman, a Parish Associate at APC who spearheaded First Place and serves as project coordinator.
“Safety is the biggest thing. They come here for safety. Most of us don’t know what it’s like not to be safe, what it’s like to be targeted.”
It took over 2.5 years for Hayder to complete background checks and security screenings required by the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. According to RAP’s website, “No traveler to the United States is subject to more rigorous security screening than refugees the U.S. government considers for admission. Only after the … screening process has been completed and an applicant is not found to pose a threat does the U.S. government grant that individual refugee admission.”
Hayder is presently working in Philadelphia and has moved to an apartment in Wynnewood.
“We’re excited. He was our first and it was a good experience,” Poorman said.
Poorman served as a pastor for 28 years, with four spent in Zimbabwe. In 1999 he founded Welcoming the Stranger, a non-profit agency and educational ministry that offers free instruction to refugees and immigrants.
Poorman said he became aware of a housing shortage for refugees after he retired in 2015 and began volunteering with the refugee resettlement agency Bethany Christian Services.
“In the course of my work I recognized there is need … These agencies sometimes have only a few days’ notice that refugees are arriving, and the agency has to find them a home, but doesn’t have enough time...Our hope is to welcome these new neighbors with open arms so that they might feel loved and cared for during their transition to life in the United States.”
First Place is modeled after Welcome Home, a similar housing facility established by Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
William Toal, III, a church Elder and Mission Committee chair, said “Because it is literally the first place these folks will stay upon their arrival in the U.S., we called the ministry First Place.”
Poorman expects to welcome refugees from many different countries, including Congo, Myanmar, Eritrea, Syria, and Iraq. First Place is collaborating with Bethany, HIAS and Nationalities Service Center.
Peter Gottemoller, program director at Bethany, said “First Place is a great help to our clients and the program because there isn’t always a lot of time to find housing, between when we find out a refugee is coming in and when they actually arrive … Having a place like that is helpful, in terms of being able to settle the folks in for a little bit while we make sure that we can secure housing. It’s also helpful for the client to find a place they are comfortable with. It’s wonderful if there’s a furnished house they can move into right away.”
Poorman said First Place was inspired by Scriptural teachings, not by opposition to President Donald Trump’s election and recent executive orders concerning refugees and immigration.
“Jesus says to welcome the stranger, welcome strangers into your life. Responding to Christ is the reason we’re doing this. It’s clearly part of our faith.”
Rev. Ryan Whitley of George’s Episcopal agreed.
“Our times are very politically charged around this issue, but for me, this is not a ministry the primary motive of which is political, but rather Christian.
“The people coming have, many of them, been in refugee camps for years. These are folks whose lives and spirits are broken… St.
Poorman does not agree, however, with Trump’s executive orders and effort to lower the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. from 110,000 to 50,000.
He thinks this country can accommodate more.
“These are good people. They are good for our country. They work hard and their children will do well, go to high school and college, get good jobs. They become citizens. They are happy to be here.
“There are 21 million refugees now in refugee camps … Only 1 percent get resettled. A lot of people never go anywhere. They can live their lives in camps. There are too many refugees, too many wars.”
First Place needs volunteers to assist with English instruction, childcare, maintenance/home repairs and transportation. Also needed are translators familiar with Arabic and Swahili, as well as potential employers for fully documented refugees.