Issachar and Asher are Pakistani born twins, both 16, and each very different from the other. Issachar is outgoing, funny, Asher is shy, quiet, bookish. Issachar wants to be a surgeon, a vet or a lawyer, he isn’t sure which. Asher hasn’t made up his mind yet.

They are both refugee children,  students at the Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, N.Y. They have had hard lives, to know some of these refugee children is to hear bone-crushing stories that put a hole in your heart. They both know the inside of a shelter.

They are devoted to America and to the prospect of better lives for them, and for their mother, who is raising them alone. it is a disgrace to suggest they don’t belong here, or are criminals.

For all of his troubles,  Issachar is devoted to telling jokes. Principal Tolan has heard them all.  Here are three:

I am not at liberty to share their story but I can tell you they desperately want and need to stay in Bishop Maginn High School and their mother – their father does not live with them. I know Mike Tolan well enough by now to know that nobody gets thrown out of Bishop Maginn for lack of tuition money.

I also know that this is a serious problem for the school, since tuition payments are their primary source of revenue, and when tuition is lowered or can’t be paid, school supplies and programs can’t be purchased. This is why the new Bishop Maginn Amazon Wish List is so important.

We only need four more music stands so the choir can all read the same music at the same time. They cost $35.99 apiece.

We can’t perform miracles, but we fill some of the holes. Small acts of great kindness.

Issachar and Asher are desperate to stay in the  school in the school, which they both love and thrive in. We are helping them do it.

I’ve already raise (an Army of Good angel is paying $5,000 to help them pay their tuition and remain in the school.)

I need $7,000 more next year for the two of them to keep them there securely, and through the end of high school. I’m taking this one year at a time. It would be a tragedy if they had to leave the school.

The Bishop Maginn High School, struggling like so many urban Catholic schools,  has only so much give in its budget and still pay its bills. These two remarkably bright and caring young men need to be safe there.

I really clicked with these two boys yesterday. Issachar loves to tell jokes, and I got a great video of him telling me three of them, he also explained the intricacies of the ending in Avengers Endgame (a separate video I’ll put up later.)

I have to say, I loved these two and bonded with them instantly.

They’re coming to visit the farm.

Hearing the story of these two beautiful and loving boys, I wonder that they can laugh or tell jokes at all. They are brave and full of human spirit.

You can help them if you wish by sending a donation for their tuition to Mike Tolan, Bishop Maginn High School, 75, Park Avenue, Albany, 12202.

And thanks. Please don’t forget to check out the new Bishop Maginn High School Amazon Wish List, all stuff they need.