29 March

Angels In America: Eh K Pru’s Acceptance Fee Is Paid

by Jon Katz

I can’t think of a better way to wake up than to get receive this message from Kathleen (I don’t have permission to use her full name):

Good Morning,

Nice news to wake up to re Eh K Pru and the wonderful school project. 
I will put a check in the mail today for $1000 for your April 10 th fee.
Mail goes out at 6 pm here so you should have it by Monday.
Also excited to be of help to someone from Afghanistan when that turns up.
with always love, K—–
I didn’t know that there were people like that in the world until just a few years ago, this selfless generosity and empathy is profoundly rewarding for me and gives me hope about this country and the people who live in it. I have no idea what her politics are, and don’t care, she just wants to do some good in the world, as I do. That is a powerful connection.
Eh K Pru has been accepted by the Albany Academy, three years out of the refugee camp where she spent the first decade of her life , she is about to enter one of the best private schools in the country, the first candidate from the refugee community that has applied under a new program I am starting.
The idea is that with the help of public school teachers, I’ll locate and meet with the students they feel are most deserving of schools that can meet their academic needs. We’ll choose several a year and help them apply to the best private schools in the area. The schools I’ve spoken with have said they will offer full scholarships to these children if they are accepted.
Eh K Pru is the ground-breaker.
I mentioned yesterday that Eh K Pru’s acceptance deposit is $1,000 which I know the family does not have. I didn’t even get to ask for help, and K wrote this morning and said she is sending me a check for the full amount.
I believe Eh K Pru will need more assistance – about $6,000 more a year for four years to make up the shortfall between what the school will offer and what she will need to pay. This money does not have to be raised now, and not all by me or us, I am partnering up with a senior at the school and his family to raise money within the school community.
The school will also help to make up this difference.
They are committed to this, and understand the realities of the refugees – by definition, they have nothing.
Eh K Pru will be secure for the four years of her schooling there, the school will guarantee it. I’ll be transparent about this, as always, I’ll share what I know.
I’ve offered to pay her luncheon fee, which is $375 a year. I’m going to see her this afternoon, to congratulate her give  her a check for smaller fees or purchases that might be necessary now.
Eh K Pru is a remarkable young woman, bright and strong and social and hard-working, in just a couple of years, she learned English well enough to lead the class in honors.  I believe she will thrive and succeed in her new environment.
Her father cleans windows in Albany,  I am positive he was a professional in Myanmar. I’m going to meet her mother next week.
Kathy Sosa is the hero in this story, she is Eh K Pru’s teacher, when I asked for nominees she went right to this young woman and helped to guide her through the admissions process. Kathy has about a dozen different jobs that I can count, our pay for school teachers is an outrage.
Some people pay $80,000 for their children to get help getting into good schools. I tried to give Kathy a $200 check for her hard work but she immediately gave it to some refugee families she knew were in need.
I would urge all of you who despair about the news these days to think of K and Kathy, they are the  light and the promise.
I won’t be sure about what it is that Eh K Pru Shee Wah will need until we all meet, but I know she will need all the support she can get.
Her family has no extra money. If you wish to help her, you can donate to me via Paypal, jon@bedlamfarm, or by check: Jon Katz Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
The news is all good. She loves the school, they want her to come there, she is in and will start in September. That is assured.
I’m going to meet a brilliant young refugee child from Afghanistan this afternoon, his father was a physician who died treating children in Afghanistan. Kathy says he belongs in a private school. I’m going to meet him, take  his photo, get his story, and if all goes well, to push for him.
I’ll be in touch.  I can’t think of a better way to help the refugee families than this. If you ask the refugees why they are, they will say to a person that they came her to find better lives for their children.
Thanks so much for your support.

 

2 Comments

  1. Jon,

    I don’t understand why a refugee child needs to go to an exclusive school. I am sure our public schools are better than what they had before. Maybe you need to explain the problem more.

    My grandson attended public school even though his parents could have sent him to an private school. Most of your readers have children or grandchildren in public schools or maybe that is just in Texas. College tuition is something else. Why not help send a deserving child to college as that is expensive and out of reach for a lot of people?

    1. I think the teachers have a better fix on this child’s needs than you do or than I do. I think this would be a helpful and urgently needed move for her, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to spell out the details of her life here on the Internet. I’m glad things worked out for you and your grandson, but that really doesn’t have any relevance for her and her life and her school. All people are not alike, all grandchildren are not alike, and all schools are not alike. I fully support the idea that this is best for her, and if you don’t feel that way, I respect that and would urge you not to contribute. I assume your grandson was not in a refugee camp for the first ten years of his life, or is in a classroom with language issues and 40 other students. Hope not. Best, Jon

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