Monday
November 22, 2004
by SCOTT BUTKI
scottb@herald-mail.com
KEEDYSVILLE
- When the Rev. Malcolm Stranathan randomly gave $50 each
to 30 people at his church and told them to use the money
to help others in the community, he had no idea the experiment
would result in the relocation of a refugee family from Ethiopia
to Keedysville.
On Sunday,
the one-year anniversary of his giving out the money, several
people told the congregation at Salem United Methodist Church
how they used the money.
And Silver
Ajal, the head of the refugee family, thanked the church for
all it had done for them, including paying their rent, buying
furniture and choosing them as a family to help.
Ajal,
who works as a school counselor in Jefferson County, W.Va.,
said he has been amazed by the generosity of the congregation.
An anonymous
woman gave the church the $1,500 seed money and Stranathan
explained to the congregation that the money was not to go
back to the church, but rather to help others in the community.
The idea
of giving out the money was inspired by an Oprah Winfrey show,
Stranathan, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church, said
Sunday after the service.
The action
also reminded some of the book and movie "Pay It Forward,"
in which a young boy decides that if he helps three people
with good deeds and they do it for others - thereby "paying
it forward" - positive changes could occur.
And positive
changes did occur locally, Stranathan said:
·
Agnus Louise Rohrer, 90, who lives in Potomac Towers, used
her $50 to buy a microwave for a woman in the public housing
complex who was short on funds, he said. Rohrer did not know
the woman, Stranathan said.
·
A woman from Wheeling, W.Va., at the church because she was
visiting her mother, took the $50 she was randomly given and,
together with a friend, used it last winter to buy a Christmas
dinner and presents for a needy single mother and her four
children, he said.
·
Ray Hanson of Boonsboro said he has a reputation for being
cheap, although he prefers the word "frugal." Either
way, when he donated his $50 to a Toys for Tots program while
with the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National
Guard in Martinsburg, W.Va., others were surprised, he said.
He challenged others to match his donation and the group raised
$1,800.
But the
most amazing story, by far, Stranathan said, was the refugee
family.
For years,
Roger Burtner, a retired United Methodist pastor, has been
in charge of working with churches in Maryland who helped
resettle refugees in the community.
When
he saw the pastor walking toward him, he said, "I did
not want to take it." But he did. And he knew that with
that action the Refugee Resettlement Fund for Southern Washington
County had been created.
Over
the next few months, he encouraged other churches and other
people in the community to donate money for the cause.
In all,
he raised $1,800, while an additional $4,200 came from other
sources, including area churches, Stranathan said. The effort
also received $4,000 in in-kind contributions.
Meanwhile,
church members bought clothing, bedding, furniture and kitchen
supplies for the house in which the family lives. Enough money
was collected so their rent was paid for the first three months,
Stranathan said.
At a
July meeting, a church committee voted to help the Ajal family:
husband Silver Ajal, 44, his wife, Aduk Okway, 30, and their
sons, Hilary, 10, and Ian, 5. Silver Ajal of Uganda and Okway
of Sudan met and got married while in a refugee camp, where
Ajal had been for 13 years, Stranathan said.
When
handing out the money one year ago, Stranathan said he did
not know what to expect with the experiment.
"Best
case: Everyone would do amazing things. Worst case: Nobody
would do anything," he said.
What
happened was way beyond his imagination, he said. |
Roger Burtner, from left, back row, helped Salem United Methodist
Church in Keedysville sponsor a refugee family. Silver Ajal
and Aduk Okway and their sons, front row, Ian, 5, and Hilary,
10, now live in Washington County. (Photo credit: Richard T.
Meagher / Staff Photographer)
|
