Grace's family

The best thing about visiting Grace's family is that their home is very African-ly decorated! As many pieces of furniture as they could find and covers on all of the head rests! It's just like in Uganda, but with real walls and floor!

I got to talk to them about how they came to America. They were refugees from the war in Southern Sudan. (Its the same war that is going on in Northern Uganda. Maybe you've heard of "the lost boys of Sudan". It's very similar to the Invisible Children situation.) They escaped to Egypt and then, after years of applying and waiting, the UN brought them to America. The UN paid for their trip, found them a place here in Knoxville (UN decision, not theirs), paid their rent for 3 months while the mom looked for work, and got them food stamps and TennCare insurance. Mom has recently lost her job and Grace is supporting the entire family on her TWO days a week at Marshall's. Mom is looking for a new job but she has only applied at one hotel. I don't think she understands that she should apply in multiple places. Maybe I'll be able to help her get to some more places where she can apply.