Melak, a brilliant young Iraqi refugee who survived Iraq and Syria, has become the first student at Bishop Maginn High School to have a Mentor from the Army Of Good.

Our new  Mentor Program marks the kickoff of our new moral revolution, a way to do good rather than fight about it.

I brought Melak a check from Kathleen, her new mentor, who will stay in touch with her and help her if she asks and needs assistance.

Melak is a senior at Bishop Maginn High School and has become a valued friend of mine. She was a student in my writing class at Bishop Maginn and her essay on the death of her grandmother – who could never got to say goodbye to – was a powerful piece of writing.

I hope she writes a book about her own remarkable life, and I am thrilled she has a mentor to help her out. Melak is imperious and headstrong.

Her family has seen two homes – one in Iraq and one in Syria – destroyed by bombs and soldiers, and Melak recalls playing with her friends outside while sniper’s bullets whizzed past their ears.

They risked their lives just to stop outside for a few minutes every few days.

Melak spent years in a refugee camp. Today, her family could not even apply for refuge in the United States, tens of millions of Iraqi refugees are stranged in camps with little prospect of a new life.

Melak loves America and looks forward to being a doctor or a lawyer. She will make it too. She is bright, resourceful, and tough.

The Mentor program is, I think, I good way to help these children, and indirectly, their families. Some need little or nothing in the way of help, some need food cards, winter clothes, and sneakers, money for school supplies, sweaters in the winter, graphic novels, and paintbrushes.

The Mentors will help when and if they can, but we don’t foresee this as being expensive or elaborate.  It shouldn’t be. Small acts of great kindness.

Some of these kids are painfully shy, some are still learning basic English. In some cases, it may be difficult or impossible to speak with them directly. Most now have access to Facetime or the Internet.

If you’re asked, help if you can, say no if you can’t. Most of these children are reluctant to ask for anything. When they do ask, it’s almost always for small things or things that their teachers know they need, or something for their mothers.

If you wish to be a mentor to refugee children at Bishop Maginn (we want to start out slowly, with just a few mentors), please contact us ([email protected] or [email protected].

I’ve been mentoring for two years and I’ve helped with school books, cellphones, food gift cards, sneakers, and hats for cold weather. You have to ask them or Sue if they need something, they almost never ask.

I find this rewarding beyond anything I’ve done, and I think the good hearts of the Army Of Good might really enjoy it. Getting to know these children and help them lifts the heart and makes the soul glow. They are the loveliest, bravest, and most forgiving people I have known.

And they have lots of good reasons to be angry and unforgiving.

Many of these children have language problems and can’t always communicate easily.

Some may need some assistant in paying something to the school for their tuition.

We will continue to help them through wish lists, fundraising, and direct intervention.

The students can communicate through school e-mail or letters or through me or Sue Silverstein. My e-mail is [email protected] and Sue’s is [email protected].

You can also write to the school: Mentor Program, Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202.

A blog reader named Anne sent me a polite and interesting message explaining why she voted for Donald Trump, even though she found him repulsive and dishonest. She just like his policies, the strong economy, and his handling of the immigration crisis.

She loves his wall and believes it has been completed and that Mexico has paid for it. She was gracious and intelligent. Living Donald Trump is believing everything he says, a courtesy I would afford to few politicians.

I wish she could come to Albany and talk to the refugee children there, many of whose friends and relatives are still stranded in horrific refugee camps, and none of whom can come to the United States.

Many of these children have lost family members and some of their grandparents and aunts and uncles may never see them again.

Melak’s horror stories of the life of the refugee are haunting. I wish everyone who votes in America could hear what she and her family have been through. And how crushed they are to never see their loved ones again.

The refugee students are not political. They are unfailingly polite and generous. But they have seen firsthand what Donald Trump’s cruel and unyielding policies have done to their countries, their friends, and their families.

Sue Silverstein, who watches over them, talked in class today about being forgiving or tolerant – the children are aware of the conflict and division in the country. She saw the pain and suffering in their eyes and faces.

They talk often about forgiveness.

They see their parents struggle night and day to survive in a country that has turned its backs on them and cut almost all forms of assistance.

I hope we can start with six to 12 mentors and figure out where to go from there. Thanks for thinking about it.

And many thanks to Kathleen. She helped to pay for Melak’s tuition last year and this year.

And she has donated money to Melak so her family can get through some hard weeks. Two wonderful women connected in a beautiful way.