Daniel's Thoughts
What must it be like to live in a refugee camp in Nepal for almost two decades, and then suddenly find yourself on Moravia Road out in East Baltimore? Or what about someone who flees a civil war in Liberia, only to face insurmountable costs of bringing family members here? Or what about a refugee who is forced out of her home country and arrives in the USA, but then has to navigate the sometimes frustrating and always complex and expensive health care system? These are the kinds of people that the Cathedral does its best to serve through ERICA, the Episcopal Refugee and Immigrant Center Alliance.
ERICA helps individuals navigate through their new lives, it makes interest-free legal aid and family reunification loans, it offers free winter clothing, and it runs workshops on issues such as health care or legal rights. I’ve been coming to the Cathedral for four years, and I’ve volunteered with ERICA for the last two.
I can’t really say where my desire to serve refugees started, but it became a substantial part of my life during the five years my wife and I lived in Israel. During those happy times, we started a language and math program in a Palestinian elementary school. I’m still sorting out what those years mean to me – but working with ERICA is probably a direct result of that experience. One of my favorite aspects of ERICA is the sense of common cause within the group and between ERICA and the other (much bigger) groups that serve immigrants in Baltimore. Whether they are hoping for the Kingdom of God or an open and democratic civil society, everybody agrees refugees need warm clothing and help figuring out how things work here.
ERICA helps individuals navigate through their new lives, it makes interest-free legal aid and family reunification loans, it offers free winter clothing, and it runs workshops on issues such as health care or legal rights. I’ve been coming to the Cathedral for four years, and I’ve volunteered with ERICA for the last two.
I can’t really say where my desire to serve refugees started, but it became a substantial part of my life during the five years my wife and I lived in Israel. During those happy times, we started a language and math program in a Palestinian elementary school. I’m still sorting out what those years mean to me – but working with ERICA is probably a direct result of that experience. One of my favorite aspects of ERICA is the sense of common cause within the group and between ERICA and the other (much bigger) groups that serve immigrants in Baltimore. Whether they are hoping for the Kingdom of God or an open and democratic civil society, everybody agrees refugees need warm clothing and help figuring out how things work here.