From the Parish

A Story of Hope and Recovery at St. Andrew’s, Lexington, Parish

By Dr. Austin T. Tuning
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Parish

Imagine for a moment how you would feel leaving everything you have known since childhood and stepping into a totally different world.  Unlike your African slave ancestors’ entry into a hostile environment, you are greeted warmly with love and caring. Then comes the hard cold facts that you must learn a new language, a new culture, make new friends and get acquainted with new tastes and sounds. And like all other refugees, you will be required to be employed and self-sufficient by the 120th day here.

Such was the situation for Jean Kashaba, who arrived in Lexington with his family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jean and his family were fleeing a country of 56 million, where nearly 70,000 people die monthly from starvation or disease, and kidnapping and sexual slavery are commonplace. Jean, age 34, who is serving as head of the  household, arrived with his mother, Dancila Karulenzi, age 60; his brother Kito Kashaba, age 30; his nieces Nancy Nduhira, age 16, and Dada Karulenzi, age 8; and his nephews Berve Kashaba, age 11, and Joffre Udongo, age 4. The children are orphans.

The family came to Lexington under the supervision of the Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KYRM), a non-profit organization of the Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM). KYRM carries out its local resettlement ministries with support from the compassionate work of volunteers, local donors and governmental grants. Refugee families are provided with housing, furnishings, clothing, employment, and classes in English, while family sponsors are sought among the churches within the community. It was St. Andrew’s Episcopal Parish that accepted the challenge of sponsoring Jean’s family.

It has been over six months since the Kashabas’ arrival in Lexington. They appear to have fared well under the guidance of  St. Andrew’s Parish. We believe the apparent success of the resettlement is attributed to an approach taken initially with the family. We took the time to listen to what they had to tell us. We tried very hard not to allow ourselves to forget that the Kashabas brought with them a wealth of historical and cultural memories. We too had much to learn from them. The time we gave to respecting, to learning and to accepting this critical fact, the easier it became for all of us. While the family obviously lacked knowledge about their new home, they were not helpless; they knew their needs. We simply needed the patience to give them the time to trust us enough to let us know their needs, wants and desires.

The evening I met the family with other members of our parish, I felt helpless. Seeing their faces for the first time, I recalled John Barbet’s seventeenth-century description of what it must have been like for my and their ancestors packed in slave ships, in spaces not much bigger than coffins, chained in dark, wet slime of the ship’s bottom, choking in the stench of their own excrement. “The height, sometimes between decks, was only eighteen inches, so that the unfortunate human being could not turn around, or even on their side, the elevation being less than the breadth of their shoulders where they are usually chained to the decks by the neck and legs. In such a place the sense of misery and suffocation is so great that the Negroes …are driven to frenzy.”

However, such was not the case for these strangers; they were shown kindness and made to feel welcome. When we asked if they would prefer to attend a church of their faith, the Presbyterian or Episcopal church, it was Dancila who, in her fluid Lingala dialect, wisely reminded us that, “There was only one God, and attending services at the Episcopal church would be fine.” It was at this point in time that I was convinced that I was at the place God wanted me to be. While the effort has had its moments of frustration, the blessings that have come to me and others who work closely with the family have been beyond measure, making the inconveniences of time and moments of uncertainty insignificant.

Beyond the sheer joy of experiencing moments of grace in the giving of resources and time, on November 4 the Parish learned that it was to receive a reward for its work. St. Andrew’s was recognized by the Episcopal Migration Ministries for outstanding and faithful service in the Episcopal Church’s ministry to refugees.

Since the family’s arrival in Lexington, two addition siblings, Marlice Kashaba, age 18, and Safari Nduhira, age 22, have joined the family. The family of seven is now a family of nine. At the moment, the family is experiencing some stress with the loss of employment. Jean, who was previously employed by the Kentucky-Indiana Lumber Company, was laid off the last week of December and Safari so far has been unsuccessful in finding employment. We are all hopeful, praying, and working to ensure that something wonderful will fill the void of unemployment.

On the brighter side, the four siblings enrolled in Breckinridge Elementary, Bryan Station Middle School and Henry Clay High School are doing exceptionally well, learning the elements of American culture while adding a fourth language, English, to their collection of spoken languages that include French, Swahili, and Lingala. In fact, Berve, the middle school student has gotten into trouble because of talking (speaking English) at times when he is expected to be quiet. As good as all this progress is, there is a strong desire for the family to maintain a healthy respect for their culture and the history that defines who they are among a world of diverse cultures. All of us have a lot to learn and the refugees bring us a wealth of gifts, if only we have the patience and the courage to listen. More importantly, refugees, regardless of their origin, provide us the opportunity to define and to live out our baptismal covenant.

In addition to St. Andrew’s, six other  Episcopal diocesan  parish families currently have or have had involvement in the resettlement of refugees. To date, there are approximately 500-600 refugees residing in the area of Lexington, Ky.

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