Khai's Story - Emmanuel House скачать в хорошем качестве

Khai's Story - Emmanuel House

Khai wanted a house. He works hard. He loves his family. He's smart. But they were stuck in this financial cycle. And he saw very quickly that if they could never own their own home, this was as good as their situation would get. The problem was, while they could afford to pay a mortgage, they could never save enough for a down payment on a house. They were doing their best. But it wasn't enough. This is my friend Pau Khai. He grew up on a family farm in Burma. The people of Burma have been under military rule for more than half a century. Persecution and human rights violations have been consistent there. So in 2007, Khai and his family decided to leave. It took them 4 years to get to the United States. Khai shares an apartment in Aurora, Illinois with his wife Lun, their one-year-old son, and with his sister and her little girl. And they are hard workers. Khai moved here speaking very little English -- now he's fluent. In a few years, he went from packing boxes in a warehouse to designing medical equipment in 3D modeling software. He's paying rent, he's supporting his family. But Khai's still a refugee. He has no life savings -- he arrived here with nothing at all. And he realized if he couldn't save to buy a home, he would be living month to month for the rest of his life. That's when we discovered Emmanuel House and the Networked Savings program. For the last year and a half, Khai and his family have been living in an Emmanuel House apartment. They pay rent just like they always have. But with the support of the network, most of what they pay goes into a savings account that they own. In 18 months, this family has saved eleven thousand dollars. They've developed friendships with Emmanuel House volunteers. They've learned how to maintain a home -- and how to buy one. All of which brings us to today. Today is move-in day. My name is Tom Baron, and Khai and his family have become my friends. So today, we're celebrating with them. This isn't just about getting a house -- this is about getting a different future for Khai and for Lun, and even more so, for their kids. This is about breaking the cycle of poverty.