A Lasting Impact

After fleeing the Congolese Civil War, LSI resettled the Kaamu family in Marshalltown thanks to a local man and family friend.

Pictures of Rashidi and Salima Kaamu’s children hang on Dan Bean’s fridge next to snapshots of his grandchildren. It symbolizes a father-son bond formed during a chance meeting in an African refugee camp in 2018 and eventually led to the family’s resettlement near Dan’s home in Marshalltown.

Three years after first meeting, in 2021, Rashidi’s family was selected for resettlement in the United States. Dan and his wife Sylvia, along with Abdullahi Hiret, a program supervisor with LSI, met the family at the Des Moines airport in 2023.

Seeing Dan and hearing a familiar language was overwhelming. Dan and Rashidi had kept in touch over WhatsApp all those years, and Abdullahi also speaks Swahili.

“I was very happy. I could cry,” Rashidi said. “I can’t forget that day when I saw Dan. He knew me. I was not alone. There was somebody with me. I had reached a new land, and I’m safe.”

Dan invited Rashidi to resettle in Marshalltown, where Dan lives. He also asked the Kaamu family to stay with him and his wife until the family could get settled. Dan and Sylvia enjoyed having house guests, and tutored the family on navigating the American culture, from table etiquette to how coins can make change. In Zimbabwe, there were only U.S. bills.

Understanding America’s cultures and norms is one of the reasons LSI offers cultural orientation courses for new refugees. LSI’s Des Moines staff assisted 252 new arrivals in 2022, and Sioux City staff had 62.

“Now he is family,” Rashidi said of Dan. “They received me and accepted me. I feel I have a home because of how Dan has connected me to the community. This is my town.”

While most refugee families rely on LSI’s resettlement services to find an apartment and volunteers and donors to furnish it and set it up, Dan wanted to do more than just welcome Rashidi’s family. He contacted members of his church and friends, who donated items and set up Rashidi’s Marshalltown home.

“There are so many good people,” Abdullahi said. “There are so many who like to help and welcome new Iowans.”

 

A Path to a Bright Future

[vc_row padding_setting=”1″ desktop_padding=”padding-one”][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Overcoming obstacles that seemed impossible, John, a resident at LSI’s Bremwood Campus in Waverly, has a bright future ahead of him.

As a young child growing up in Tanzania, John’s life was like most other kids.  He loved soccer, played with his siblings, and went to school.  His parents taught him education was essential to living a successful life.  So, when his grandfather decided to move to the United States, he asked to bring John with him to open up educational opportunities.

Shortly after arriving in the U.S., John’s grandfather passed away, resulting in John going into foster care and ultimately being placed in a home in Iowa.

“My foster care placement was a wonderful family with kids similar to my age, and they helped me enroll in school so I could continue my education,” said John. “However, I was not used to the family structure and wasn’t happy there, so I needed another placement. That’s how I ended up at Bremwood.”

At LSI’s Bremwood Center, we lift up Iowa youth with the quality mental health care they need to thrive. But we also ensure they are set up for success once they are ready to live independently. Through LSI’s Hartman Supervised Apartment Living (SAL) program, youth are empowered to live more independently while still receiving support and supervision. Individuals build skills like money management while attending school or working.

John came to the shelter at Bremwood in the fall of 2022. Although he had a tough time in school, specifically in math, his dream was to graduate high school and continue his education.

“I wanted to turn my goal of graduating high school into a reality,” said John. “Algebra was a tough subject for me, so the staff at Bremwood helped me get a tutor.”

Rameses, a Program Supervisor at Bremwood, worked closely with John and reminded him often that his past does not define his future, and because of that, anything is possible.

“John would stress to me that he just wants to be great and make the staff at Bremwood proud,” said Rameses. “I would tell him being great is about trying to be the best version of ourselves every day and that we need to strive to be better than we were the previous day.”

After working with his algebra tutor, John became a better student, ultimately graduating high school in May 2023.

“Despite his hardships, John applied to colleges such as Wartburg College and Iowa State University, and has accepted an offer to attend Wartburg College, where he will play football, opening up a bright future for him,” said Brian Imhoff, Director of Residential Services at LSI.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

“John got over hurdles that almost seemed impossible,” said Brian. “No matter what door he chooses, I have no doubt he will be successful.”

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