Group forgoes annual executive party to help children have a good holiday

OAK PARK — The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) skipped its annual Board of Directors holiday party this year and instead offered help to a group of Iraqi refugee children.

Students whose families recently came to the U.S. as refugees from Iraq recieve gifts from social servies group ACC and school officials during a holiday celebration at Oak Park High School on Thursday. Oak Park has become home to a large number of Iraqi refugee families. ACC works with the school district to provide an after school program providing them help with homework, English, computer skills, life skills and counseling.

ACC president Haifa Fakhouri said the group redirected money for a party for executives in order to put on a celebration and give gifts to newly arrived Iraqi families “to make their lives easier.”
ACC Chairman Abe Munfakh said a large number of recent refugees from Iraq have settled in Oak Park, creating a need for special attention in the schools there.

“It’s a big adjustment for the children. They have to get into the American way of doing things,” Munfakh said. “So we decided to forgo our celebration so we could buy gifts for each child for Christmas.”

The group partners with the Oak Park school district to provide an after school program for 36 1st-12th graders, offering help with homework, English, computer skills, life skills and counseling, three hours a day, four days a week.

On Thursday, ACC and school administrators presented gifts and held a party for the students at Oak Park High School.

Oak Park school officials and ACC executives pose with students during a holiday celebration thrown for a group of Iraqi refugee children on Thursday. The students take part in an after school program in the Oak Park school district addressing their unique needs. PHOTOS: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

“This is great,” said a teary-eyed school board member Cynthia Rice. “Anything you do to help make a child’s life better, that’s a day-maker.”
She said she was moved by the appreciation that was obvious in the student’s expressions as they received their gifts.

“The look in their eyes. Their eyes tell the story,” she said. “They know they’re cared about… We can’t just do it this time of year. We have to keep doing it.

“These kids have been through so much just to be able to have an education and peace. Every child deserves that.”

Diana Elias (L), 12, of Roosevelt Middle School, sings a song about the journey of Iraqi refugees as ACC President Haifa Fakhouri, ACC Chairman Abe Munfakh and 12-year-old Key Elementary School student Ismail Nasri watch.

“They are so courageous — just that they want to study and they want to do good here,” said Walid Gammouh, a social worker for the school district.
He said the families came from all parts of Iraq via Syria, Jordan and Yemen, where they took refuge from four to eight years before making it to America.

The students’ different journeys create a need for individualized attention and instruction , Gammouh said.

“Each one brings to the table the amount of time they have been without school,” he said.

“There is a lot of pain. A lot of psychological scars that these kids and their parents have endured.”

On Mondays and Wednesdays, the kids’ parents are brought in to participate in the program. They receive training in vocabulary, life skills and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“You are our future leaders in this country,” Oak Park Schools Assistant Superintendent Stan Trompeter said to the students, as Gammouh translated. We’re so glad you’re here… and we are here to promote the best possible education for you.”

Children of Iraqi refugee families open gifts during a holiday party thrown for them at Oak Park High School on Thursday.

Ismail Nasri, 12, who attends Key Elementary School, said his family came to the U.S. five months ago and that receiving the gifts and the assistance makes him happy. He got board games and school supplies in his gift bag.
“They help me,” he squeaked out in English.

Diana Elias, 12, of Roosevelt Middle School, sang a song before the group about the journey of Iraqi refugees.

She said she appreciates the help from ACC and the schools.

“They help me with homework. They help me to learn English,” she said in Arabic.

Her family came to the U.S. five months ago.