Refugees arrive in Grinnell

Five new residents of Grinnell just arrived this week, and came a lot farther than many newcomers. Getting the refugees from Afghanistan took a lot of arranging, says Grinnell College chaplain Deanna Schorb.Schorb says the family is adjusting well, for the short time they’ve been in this country.GRAC, the Grinnell Refugee Assistance Coalition figured it could bring in and support two families. A second family will arrive later this year. Last week, four kids and their mother made the two-day trip from the Mideast to Iowa, a big adjustment. Schorb says it’s been a busy time for the family. What you’d do in a new town, getting groceries, meeting people and getting interpreters. Schorb says the community has opened its arms to the Afgan family.She says there’s been an outpouring of resources, time and money for the family. The family is living in a house donated by Grinnell College. A second family to come later, and four others who will be welcomed to other new homes around Iowa all consist of widowed women and their children who’ve fled to Pakistan after their husbands were killed in Afghanistan.