Mudasor is seven, he was born in Afghanistan and spent the first years of his life there until his father was killed in a roadside bombing while driving food to American soldiers at an airbase. He fled with his mother Lisa and his brother Baseer and spent the bulk of his life in a United Nations refugee camp.

Now he and his mother and brother live in a small and roach-infested apartment, we are hopeful they will soon be living in a bigger, better, cleaner one. I met Mudasir yesterday, he is one of those kids who has the spark of life embedded in him, even though he has seen more awful things than any seven-year-old child should have seen.

None of this has dampened his spirit, his curiosity, or willingness to engage with the world. I beat  him at our first round of thumb wrestling, but I won’t be able to hold him off for long, he does not like to lose or intend to lose.

Given a chance, I believe he will thrive in America. I would like to help Busadir. His mother has no money and he is in urgent need of new clothing. Sometimes I am comfortable buying clothes at thrift shops, sometimes I find used things a childlike Busadir could use.

But sometimes I am not comfortable doing that, and this is one of those times. Clothes are desperately important to refugee children entering our public schools because they are such important cultural and even political symbols to other children.

Nothing brings these children more ridicule and embarrassment than the clothes they often have to wear because they can’t afford the sneakers, sweatshirts and other clothes almost all American children wear.

Sometimes, I feel they need new clothes of their own. That’s what Busadir needs. He has been wearing used clothes for awhile now. It would be great if he could pick out his own.

If you ask a refugee child what they most want, they often say new sneakers or a certain kind of shirt. Most of the devices and gadgets American children have are beyond the range of their families, few have wi-fi or computers, the Internet isn’t quite within their grasp in many cases.

I would like to go with Ali and Busadir to get him some clothes, and perhaps a portable gaming device he and his five-year old brother Baseer, who is shy, might get to use and play with at home. He has no toys.

My idea is to collect four or five hundred dollars and take him and his brother shopping. Ali wants to come too. We are thinking Wal-Mart. Money goes farther there.

Busadir still remembers his slain father, he says he always made him laugh. Busadir is quick to laugh. I would like to help him, the magic is in his eyes. His mother Lisa has the saddest eyes, but when Busadir smiles, she smiles.

At the moment, we are helping Lisa with groceries and soap and toothpaste. There is nothing extra for toys and clothes, not just yet.

If you would like to help Busadir get his trip to Wal-Mart, you can send a contribution to the Gus Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816 or via Paypal, [email protected]. Thanks, I’ll take photos along the way.