Help and Hope

Jacqueline with Webster Gardens friends

Jacqueline and Rev. Stanish Stanley

“Pastor, I am tired. I am working hard, but I am struggling, and I need help to pay rent. I think I have diabetes, and I want to check with a doctor.” This was Jacqueline Danga’s explanation for why she was late for a CFNA-sponsored Health and Wellness Screening.

Life for a resettled refugee can be tough depending on how quickly they can learn English, find a job, and begin to keep up with the quick-paced way of life in America. Having recently suffered a debilitating illness and without an extended family to provide support, Jacqueline had fallen seriously behind on her rent and was pleading for help.

Born on October 20, 1961, in the Kasai Province of southern Congo, then called Zaire, Jacqueline’s life was normal until a civil war broke out in 1991 during a nationwide power struggle. Her husband was killed, and Jacqueline was forced to flee with the remnants of her family to the Nyarngusu Refugee Camp in neighboring Tanzania. She lived there for 14 years. In 2012, she was cleared for resettlement and came to St. Louis with her son and two orphan dependents. His daughter, Agnes, now 27, remained behind and now lives in Lubumbashi, Congo.A fluent speaker of French, Lingala, Kitetela, and Swahili, Jacqueline soon became a serious student of English. She also began looking for work and was soon employed as a housekeeper at St. Louis University Hospital. She now holds a similar position at Washington University.

A baptized Christian from birth, she began attending New City Fellowship shortly after arriving in St. Louis. More recently, she has attending Webster Gardens Lutheran Church with friends she met at the Peace Center. Interestingly, the rent assistance CFNA was able to provide was from an account established by funds received from Webster Gardens a year ago.

Since her arrival in St. Louis, Jacqueline’s greatest difficulty has been living apart from family members (her son now lives in Massachusetts), and the support they would normally provide. Her greatest joy has been meeting friends at places such as the Peace Center. Her dream is to become a citizen of the US and own a home.

We wish for Jacqueline a true sense of well-being including recovery from her diabetes. We also wish for her the peace which only our Lord and Savior can provide.

By Revs. Stanish Stanley and Al Buckman, with Jacqueline Danga