Reported by Brad Penner, STATEWIDE Correspondent

[Jana McGuire, Statewide Host] Moving to another town, or even a different state, can be a stressful experience. It's not easy to adjust to new surroundings and make new friends. Imagine what it might be like to move to a different country where you don't speak the language, don't have a job, and don't know where you'll live. That's the situation a refugee is in. Fortunately for them, there is help. Brad Penner found out how. Brad?
[Brad Penner, Statewide Correspondent] Jana, since 1980, close to 6,500 refugees have made their way to Nebraska. They've come from Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, and now they're coming from Iraq. They leave behind political oppression. They leave to save their lives while refugees can be found in a number of Nebraska communities. The vast majority come to Lincoln. Local churches usually act as sponsors. For this story, we worked with Catholic Social Services to find out how one family from the Kurdish region of Iraq adjusts to life in a new world.

Masud Al-Sindi has a new job. He has a new home in a new town. Masud Al-Sindi has a new life in America. Less than a year ago, he was living in the Kurdish region of Iraq working as a housekeeper for the Military Coordination Center, a multinational force that became a target of the Iraqi military. Nizar Zhaiya translated our interviews with Masud.
[Nizar Zhaiya, refugee/interpreter] "They were accused of, you know, spying for the Americans so the MCC pulled out. There was a danger. That's why they didn't stay."
When they left Iraq, Masud, his wife, his brother, and three sisters had each other and little else. They didn't know where they were going. They wound up in Lincoln, Nebraska where help was waiting. Kay Wenzl is in charge of refugee resettlement for Catholic Social Services.
[Kay Wenzl] "Last year we settled just right around 400 refugees. Our office is involved with everything from perhaps meeting the refugee family at the airport to assisting them find temporary or permanent housing, food, clothing, household donations, getting them set up in their household here in Lincoln.
It takes a lot of work by a lot of people to help refugees get settled. Darrin Furasek works part-time for CSS.
[Darrin Furasek] "Like all the CSS. employees, I'm probably overworked and underpaid, but I enjoy it. They gave me a fancy title. I'm the donation coordinator which is fancy for truck driver. I pick up furniture and assorted items from generous people who donate it, and I deliver it to the people that need it."
"[Wenzl] Because of that positive community response, refugees can pretty much be set up in their home with the basic necessities -- beds, linens, furniture, that type of thing, and therefore, they're not having to go out and purchase all of those items or scramble around without."
Dr. Joe Stavas and his family have been helping refugees settle in Lincoln for several years.
[Dr. Joe Stavas] "One of the problems they had was housing because they were then sponsoring other families. So we purchased a home that needed a lot of work, and through a lot of help and contributions, we were able to get this house put together and fixed up."
This house has been home for two Russian families. Each family was able to buy their own house after a few years. Now Masud's family is here, and the Stavas's are helping them learn about life in America.
[Dr. Stavas] "We came into the house once, and I think the thermostat was set at 85 or 90. It was a bit balmy in here and had a nice greenhouse effect. We explained to them about gas bills and electric bills and water bills."
Maureen Stavas remembers their first trip to the grocery store.
[Maureen Stavas] "He wanted some spice, and they would go up and down the aisles. I still can't figure out what it was they wanted."
[Nizar] " They were referring to lemon, lemons."
[Maureen Stavas] "Lemons, oh. Well, we ended up buying beets. We weren't sure. [Laughs.]"
The language barrier is good for a laugh now and then, but the Stavas's take their work seriously. The youth group at their church pitches in, and their own children learn a valuable lesson about caring for others. Kay Wenzl says the program just wouldn't work without people like them.
[Wenzl] "We're always looking for volunteers. Some volunteers are assisting in tutoring English. Some volunteers like to get to know families one on one and establish more of an individualized relationship with them, which we encourage. I think the best way to understand about a refugee program is to meet a refugee and get to know them on a daily basis."
This is the first eye exam for some of Masud's brothers and sisters. Health care is a big concern when refugees arrive. Dr. Richard Powell has years of experience with refugee patients. He's done a lot of work for Catholic Social Services.
[Dr. Richard Powell] "You just pick it up [the communication]. You do a lot of hand gestures. Since I don't know the language, it's always best to have an interpreter, but occasionally I've done them without an interpreter."
Catholic Social Services helps refugees take care of their initial basic needs. Then they help refugees learn to take care of themselves. Suzanne Hatfield is an assessment specialist for CSS. It's her job to find out the skills and abilities of refugees.
[Suzanne Hatfield, interviewing a refugee] "I don't think I've met you yet. I'm Suzanne. Nice to meet you. How many years did you go to school?"
She also talks with them about short-term cash and medical benefits that are available.
[Hatfield] "You're eligible to receive these benefits for a period of about seven months from your date of arrival, but it's important that you start looking for a job right away. Are there any jobs that you've heard about here in Lincoln that you might like to apply for?"
[Nizar, translating for the refugee] "He wants to work anywhere."
Anywhere turned out to be the Metromail plant in Seward. Masud and a couple of other Kurdish refugees found jobs here a couple of months after arriving here. Ardie Olson is teaching them the ropes.
[Ardie Olson] "I like working with people like this, and even though I can't understand them and they don't understand me, a smile and just gesturing, you know, you can get a long ways that way."
Machine operators start out making $6-7 an hour, and after they've put in a thousand hours, they're eligible for benefits including health and dental coverage. Human Resources Manager Cheryl Vavra says they've hired quite a few refugees through Catholic Social Services.
[Cheryl Vavra] "We're located out in Seward, Nebraska, and it's a rural environment, and the unemployment rate is low. Recruiting becomes a challenge, and so I thought that would be a good source to talk to and see if there are people that were interested in working, and it's worked out very well."
Masud says the job is going well, but he wants to learn English. He hasn't taken any classes yet, but his sister, Maryam, might be able to help. Maryam's enrolled in the "English as a Second Language" program at Park Middle School in Lincoln.
[Judy Mulnix, ESL Team Leader] "Most of our students are refugee families or associated with refugee families."
At Park School there are around 150 ESL students. They speak 25 or 30 different languages. In the class we visited, they begin by learning the words they need to survive. They learn about their new home, but they give something back as well.
[Mulnix] "It does change the flavor of the school a little bit, but it's been very positive. I think our students know more about people of other cultures than a lot of other schools that don't have such programs."
The halls of Park Middle School are decorated with the flags of many nations, places their students once called home. But for them, Lincoln is home now, and most are glad to be here.
[Nizar] "He said back in Iraq we considered we had no life. We never experienced a real life."
Masud says he doesn't want to go back. Nizar dreams of returning to Iraq some day, an Iraq that is once again safe.
[Nizar] "I never thought of leaving -- in orderly times leaving Iraq and leaving my family, but that's the way it is. We were forced to leave because we were not safe. We were not safe at all."
[Wenzl] "It's a humanitarian program to save the lives of people. Our office is needing to work to respond to those crises in a much quicker fashion than we had four or five years ago, and it's just part of being prepared and being on our toes and able to assist the families that are in need."
Today those in need are the Kurdish people from Iraq. Tomorrow they may come from somewhere else, but they will come, and they'll find a helping hand in Nebraska. Reporting for Statewide, I'm Brad Penner