Recently I assisted a Karenni refugee family make a medical appointment and made sure they had the right address.
Thirty minutes after the appointment time, I received a call from the doctor asking if the family was coming. I called and discovered the family had walked into the wrong office on the same floor. They were in the process of getting costly physical exams and vaccinations they didn’t need!
After a couple more calls, I got them to the right doctor and the director of the wrong medical office waived the fees for the exams they had finished, but had to charge $225 for two vaccinations!
Because we have so many relationships with service providers and officials in the community, the doctor we knew could call us when something went wrong. Without that call, the Karenni family would have paid $1,000 for medical services they didn’t need.
As CBF ministers, the Karenni, Chin and Karen refugees know we love them with God’s love, welcoming and ministering in ways that help them survive and get stronger in America. Sometimes even the simplest of tasks go wrong for immigrants and refugees with expensive consequences, but God’s love and presence can turn things around and move us all in the right direction.
- Steve Clark, CBF field personnel serving in Louisville, Ky.