Meshach-Mayom Bol Achuk, who has been in Michigan since December, was there to greet them. I was expecting that I would be lonely, but when I came here to this place, I have got a lot of friends around here. With civil war and drought raging throughout Sudan, West Michigan will get less lonely for the Sudanese as time goes on. Since the United States opened its doors to refugees from the Sudan a few months ago, there has been no shortage of people seeking refuge. With help from the outreach group Catholic Human Development, the U.S. government is offering the Sudanese refuge and assistance after they sign a contract agreeing to be self-sufficient after a set period of time.
Paperwork means little to the refugees, however.
They are concentrating on learning more about American life and are especially interested in finishing the education they began in Kenya, said refugee Kuol Anyang Madhier. Unfortunately for many of the Sudanese, that education stopped when they reached Michigan, thanks to government policy about the handling of adult refugees. The minors are placed with families or in group-homes through Bethany Christian Services. They attend high school and are provided with a monthly allowance, health insurance and Medicare until they are 21, said Liz Paauw, whose family is co-sponsoring two of the majors. Majors, on the other hand, are given rent money and health care for three to eight months and are then instructed to find employment as soon as possible.