an opportunity to help

Here comes Thanksgiving! Regardless of the state of the economy, most of us can still find much to be thankful for. Tonight, I am grateful that I can make a contribution to an orphan from Sudan who is a student at my son's high school. Susan was terribly burned in an apartment fire earlier this week.

Here's the email I received from the director of the school, Ed Porritt. Even if I can only send $5, I always contribute something to grassroots efforts like this. I figure every little bit helps, and a lot of small contributions can still add up to something big.

I would like to share with you some sad news about one of our fellow Catalyst students. Saturday evening Susan Moi was seriously burned when her apartment in Boulder caught fire and was airlifted to the University of Colorado Medical Center Burn Unit. Susan is severely burned, currently sedated, and expected to be in the hospital for at least a month. Thankfully her medical status has improved from critical to serious. An orphan from Sudan, Susan works for her rent and food, and sends money to her brothers who still live in a refugee camp in Africa. A dedicated, hard-working student (taking three math classes at once at Catalyst), Susan was scheduled to graduate in May and plans to go on to nursing school.

During our recent study of Africa, Susan told her fellow students how she watched as her father was killed outside her home in Sudan when she was five years old. She lost her mother as the family fled the country. Susan survived years of abuse in a refugee camp in Kenya before being rescued and brought to Boulder. After three weeks in Boulder, 15 year-old Susan was left on her own. She now receives some support from Congregation Har HaShem and Friends of Sudanese American Men and Women Organization.

Susan is expected to survive. Looking forward, Susan faces a slow recovery and years of surgeries. What few possessions Susan owned were lost in the fire. In addition, she and her brothers have lost their financial lifeline.

We have set up a fund at First Community Bank to support Susan. We urge you to make a financial gift to the Susan Moi Fund, c/o Catalyst High School, 2575 Park Lane, Suite 100, Lafayette, CO 80026.

You can also send your contribution to the Susan Moi Fund, c/o First Community Bank 2695 N. Park Drive, Suite 101, Lafayette, Colorado 80026 or visit any of the First Community Bank branches in Boulder, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, Broomfield and Erie to contribute by credit card.

For additional information about Susan's situation you can visit 9 News

PS: look what I found in my inbox after I posted this entry! One of Alan Cohen's Daily Inspiration quotations:

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

-- Winston Churchill