29 March

Great Luck With Your Camera, Farmaz

by Jon Katz
Farmaz Gets His Wish

It was an almost magical pleasure to grant Farmaz his only birthday wish, to have a camera (see below). It took a half dozen tries to get Farmaz to look at me, and I had to dance like a circus clown to tease even this small but very genuine smile out of him.

Still, when he did finally agree to look at my camera, it was a look of dignity and expectation. I hope to know him better in the coming weeks, and to help him if he wishes and if I can.

I was touched by his love for the camera, and his knowing and loving way of handling it. I can see some wisdom and pain in his face, and he has good reason to have both, he lost his father in Afghanistan and is working to settle in his new life. His mother is working hard in the only minimum wage jobs available to her.

I wish Farmaz the wind at his back and every good fortune. I am grateful that he and his mother and sister made it to America, and I hope he sees that we are a generous and welcoming people. I think you will be seeing and hearing a lot from him. In a week or so, Ali and I will be bringing his family some groceries and other necessities and I am eager to see the photographs he has taken with his new camera.

Thanks for your support of my refugee work and of the RISSE Amazon Refugee Wish List.

If you wish to support my work, you can send a donation to me at Post Office Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark your contribution “refugees.” And thanks.

29 March

The Evolving Library, RISSE

by Jon Katz
The Evolving Library

When I first saw this library a few months ago, there was nothing in it but a bookshelf filled with donated books. But see what the Army of Good has done. The floor lamp (another on the way), the rug, the bean bag chairs, the table, the puzzles, the teacher, the software learning tools. The library has become the heart of the RISSE after school, a place for the children to read, sit quietly, do their homework, talk to Ms. Emma, their teacher, and one another.

Everything in it is moveable, and each day, the students rearrange it all according to their tastes and needs.

A haven, a special place donated by the Army Of Good.

29 March

RISSE Third Grade, With Attitude

by Jon Katz
The RISSE Third Grade, With Attitude

The RISSE 3rd grade class (some of them) were in the cafeteria when I came in, and they were all eager to introduce themselves to the world. They are the 3rd grade with attitude, proud and smiling and very eager to pose. They have been through a great deal, but they have not lost their attitude.

It fills me up just to go and see them.

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