Interfaith Los Alamos Don Cobb and Kate Massengale delivered 60 backpacks and extras last Wednesday to Muhammad Munir of Lutheran Family Services, and provided almost $600 in gift cards for shoes, etc., thanks to the generosity of community members in Los Alamos. Courtesy/Interfaith Los Alamos

Refugee children receive backpacks with school supplies delivered last Wednesday by Interfaith Los Alamos and made possible by the generosity of community members in Los Alamos. Courtesy/Interfaith Los Alamos

By KATE MASSENGALE
Interfaith Los Alamos

Despite cuts in federal spending for immigrants and refugees who are legally here, Lutheran Family Services still has about 200 families/individuals they are helping adjust to America to become active citizens of the United States.

Interfaith Los Alamos answered the call for backpacks with school supplies and delivered 60 of those last Wednesday. We also provided almost $600 in gift cards for things like shoes.

These refugees have come through UN refugee camps or other legal processes to the United States and come from an array of countries such as Afghanistan, Ukraine, The Republic of Congo, Sudan, and other difficult places.

We are a land of immigrants and refugees, all looking to become contributing members of society, and that’s how the new ones feel, too.

Los Alamos is a generous and caring community, and I am so grateful I live here among people like you.