By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Twenty three year-old Innocent bears a heavy burden of responsibility for his young age. It is now up to him to provide for his large family: his mother and five siblings. And he must do this as a new arrival, in a wholly unfamiliar land, and with almost no resources at his disposal.
Innocent and his family arrived in the United States, and settled in Las Vegas, only a few weeks ago. They brought almost nothing with them. They come from the small and turbulent African country of Rwanda.
Victims of tribal conflict, the family was cast out of their home country many years ago because, according to Innocent, they did not look or speak like the predominant tribe there. They have had to live in a crowded refugee camp for the past 20 years, waiting and hoping to find an opportunity for a more stable life somewhere.
Conditions in the camp were deplorable. The father of the family was killed after he left the camp to find a better life for his family. That left Innocent, as the eldest son, in charge of the family’s well being.
But it was a nearly impossible task. In the camp, the family lived on a scant diet, primarily of raw rice and potatoes. Even now, family members still suffer the long-term health effects of chronic hunger and malnutrition.
But their immigration to the U.S. has given the family new hope. Polite and soft-spoken in temperament, Innocent has taken every opportunity to prepare himself to be productive and provide for his family. While still in the refugee camp, he completed his first year of business school. Now that he is here in the U.S., he is anxious to continue his studies and finish his degree. But he, and his family, need all the help that they can get.
With violence and unrest going on in many places around the world, stories like Innocent’s are not uncommon across the country and throughout the world. The problem even reaches into southern Nevada. By some counts, a total of more than 5,000 refugees have resettled here in the past two years.
And that trend is on the rise.
These kinds of stories have inspired a group of local women to form an informal organization with a simple mission: to help.
The Moapa Valley H.A.N.D.S. organization was founded in recent weeks. The acronym stands for Helping A Neighbor through Devoted Service. Currently the group is made up of just a handful of local women. But their goal is to engage the community and to grow in numbers.
“Hearing so many stories of immigrants coming here from such difficult circumstances with almost nothing, kind of opened my eyes,” said Logandale resident Keshia Phillipenas, one of the group’s organizers. “Before that, I never really knew that there was such a need. It just hit me pretty hard that I needed to get involved and try to do something for these people.”
By networking in the community, Phillipenas found other women who had similar feelings. The group began to actively seek for ways that they could engage in the problem and make a difference. Thus, they eventually conncted with Las Vegas valley resident Cindy Trussell, who is the founder of a small non-profit called Lighthouse Charities.
Trussell, and her small organization, was already on the ground in Las Vegas, working to bring aid to these struggling refugee families who arrive in the region. Last year, Lighthouse Charities distributed 1.4 million lbs of food to families. The organization also distributed about 25,000 articles of clothing, furnished hundreds of homes and supplied refugee children with school supplies and English learning tools.
“Cindy started on this effort 4-5 years ago, so she was already out there and had the contacts,” Philipenas said. “She had already seen the need and just went out and started helping. But she always needs more support to broaden her reach. And that is what we want to do.”
The women of the Moapa Valley H.A.N.D.S group immediately realized the potential of the Moapa Valley community in making a difference in this effort. “We felt like we wanted to unite this community and reach out to local families to get involved,” Phillipenas said. “Our group is intended to provide a community-based vehicle to help people who are in need around us.”
Phillipenas admits that the effort has already run up against some resistance. “Let’s face it, immigration is a rather political topic right now,” she said. “But what we are doing is really not a political thing. Whatever way you go politically, these refugees are here, one way or another. They are in desperate need of help. That is all we are trying to do, is help them.”
To raise understanding on this important issue, Moapa Valley H.A.N.D.S. is holding a special event called Community Refugee Awareness Family Night. The event will be held on Monday, April 3 from 6-7 pm at the Old Logandale School.
Giving a presentation at the event will be Cindy Trussell of Lighthouse Charities. The meeting is open to all Moapa Valley residents including families, friends and guests.
Trussell will be sharing stories of people she has been helping. Some of those people are expected to accompany her to the meeting in order to tell their remarkable stories to the audience first hand.
Phillipenas said that the goal is to help families in the community become aware of what is going on in this refugee crisis, learn what the needs are, and find out ways that they can get involved and help.
As the event is designed to be family friendly, all ages are welcome to attend the event.
“I think it would be awesome for parents to bring their young kids and teens to see just how good we have it here in this country and in this community; and to learn what they can do to serve and to help,” Phillipenas said.
