Our Feature Stories
The stories on this page provide a close look at the impact of our programs and services. Read these in-depth features for real stories about our mission in action.
Feature Stories
"Love Finds a Home"
The story of an Immigration Legal Services client’s journey to family reunification.
Sharew visits Catholic Charities of Central Texas one hot summer day, family in tow. His daughter, Nuhamin, clamors for her father to hold her. He picks her up gently, and Sharew and his wife Serkalem laugh together as Nuhamin squirms in his arms, confident that she will not fall with her father there to catch her.
It feels as though this must be how it’s always been. But for Sharew’s family, this togetherness is not to be taken for granted. Sharew is from Ethiopia, a land of great beauty but with stifled economic opportunity. As a young man with energy and ambitions, Sharew saw more for his future than the path laid before him. So, he applied to the Diversity Immigrant Visa program. With luck, his application was approved.
But this opportunity was bittersweet. While moving to the United States would be the realization of a great dream, Sharew had a family and a beautiful wife at home in Ethiopia. Convinced that America was his best chance at a better future, Sharew took a leap of faith.
Sharew’s first years in Austin were challenging but exhilarating. He found a job and an apartment. He strove to learn a new language and adjust to life in a new country. But his heart was still in Ethiopia, and the few times he could afford to visit weren’t enough to fill the void.
Sharew and Serkalem worked through the proper legal channels to secure Serkalem’s acceptance into the United States, but the process was arduous and confusing. Each time he called for information, Sharew was met with a different answer. Deadlines shifted and important paperwork never arrived in the mail. They learned Serkalem’s case could cost up to $10,000—a backbreaking sum for a man starting a new life while supporting his wife in another country. And in the midst of this trial, a miracle. Serkalem learned she was pregnant with their first child.
What should have been a happy time became a dark period for Sharew. With pressure mounting, he worried the life he’d worked so hard to build could crumble. Serkalem would have to go through the pregnancy without Sharew, and he would miss those precious moments with her. Roadblocks continued to appear in Serkalem’s legal case. Their financial situation was increasingly dire, especially now with a child to consider. Sharew became distracted at work, lonely, and disheartened.
“I was considering going back to my country,” he said. Sharew’s face, typically cheerful, is cast in a rare shadow as he reflects on this difficult time.
With the birth of his child nearing and all options exhausted, Sharew turned to his new church community for help. There, he met Sileshi, who assists members like Sharew with free translation services and support. Sileshi opened a new world for Sharew, and once Sileshi heard of the family’s legal challenges, he knew Catholic Charities could help.
Like many who arrive at the doorstep of Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Sharew did so with little hope. But his situation quickly changed when his Immigration Legal Services lawyer, Hannah Silk Kapasi, stepped in. A bright and experienced lawyer, Hannah was there to gather and organize evidence, submit paperwork, and monitor deadlines. She took care to explain the legal complexities to Sharew and ensure Serkalem’s case was on track. The services she provided rivaled that of any private attorney, but were offered at a cost Sharew could afford. And above all, Hannah practiced with dedication and compassion. “She took the case as if it was her own,” Sharew said.
It made all the difference.
One day—after months of effort from Hannah and the Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services team—Sharew got the call he’d been dreaming of for five years. Hannah had secured Serkalem and Nuhamin’s acceptance into the United States. Their young family would finally be reunited.
“I have never felt such joy in my life,” he said. “It feels as if I am in a dream. Whenever I wake up from my sleep, I don’t believe they’re beside me.”
This journey did not come without sacrifice. Sharew and Serkalem were separated for five years. Serkalem was forced to face her pregnancy alone. Sharew missed his daughter’s birth and the memories of her first months of life. But they never had any doubt it was worth it.
Now far removed from that trying time, the family is all smiles and laughter at the Catholic Charities campus. When asked what she missed most about her husband, Serkalem says she missed his singing. As if to make up for lost time, and without thought to the room full of people, Sharew begins to serenade her. A lilting Ethiopian love song fills the room as their daughter sleeps peacefully between them. Their love is powerful, surely strong enough to stretch across oceans. But here, it has found a home.
The story of Sharew and his family is a testament to the power of hope, faith and community. Their story is one of many with a happy ending written at Catholic Charities of Central Texas. Sileshi believes that one day, Nuhamin will be an author, and will write the story of her parents’ love and the life they built for her. Perhaps he is right. But whatever her path may be, Nuhamin now has the power to choose it.
Volunteer Spotlight: Melinda Vaughn
Hear from Melinda Vaughn, one of our long-time volunteers, about the joy she finds in volunteering and why she keeps coming back to Catholic Charities.
I have been volunteering in the Counseling Services program at Catholic Charities of Central Texas for two years. It motivated me to volunteer when I took a tour of the facilities with my church. Our facilitator brought us to Catholic Charities as just one ministry in this city where we could and SHOULD become involved and give back…and that’s how I arrived at Catholic Charities.
I believe it was God-inspired! I was drawn to helping in a place that seemed very serious and professional about the work they do. I was interested in offering my Spanish-language ability.
I love when a client—who has entered our offices burdened, worn down, feeling hopeless, worried—is walked to the door by their counselor, and their entire BEING is changed. There is a smile of hope on their face, they stand taller, there is a fleeting moment of gratitude as the client and counselor exchange one last word or two. That is the most satisfying part about my job.
I continue volunteering at Catholic Charities because of the excellence and professionalism in the services provided to the community and all of us should we ever need them, the kindness and courtesy with which we treat our clients, and the people I work with. They are SO committed to a high standard of quality of service and care—and that makes me feel like we truly are demonstrating that concept in our Catholic Social Teaching about the “dignity of the human person” by the way we treat them in all areas of life.
I think Catholic Charities of Central Texas covers some basic and very real needs in our society today by providing supportive legal services, financial counseling, services for veterans, Gabriel Project (for young families, single parents and children), and the services offered in the Counseling Services program. It’s an integral, holistic, and pretty complete support system for our communities—and for all of us, when we need encouragement or professional help.
-Melinda Vaughn, Counseling Services volunteer