Florence Crittenton News — June, 2009In this issue: 
Richard Bakheit: Promises to KeepAfter escaping the horrors of the Sudan civil war, Crittenton Jobs graduate Richard Bakheit vowed he would never forget the family members he left behind or the suffering people of Sudan. Somehow, he promised himself, he would find a way to help. Just a few years later, the quietly determined young man is keeping that promise. Born in Sudan, the soft-spoken Richard, aged 19, spent his first few years living in ???? with his parents and four siblings. Then civil war broke out and his world changed. His village was routinely bombed by the government air force. “I was young and it was scary,” he says. “We had to protect ourselves from the raids by staying inside holes dug into the ground.” Between attacks, his mother helped bury the dead. Then, his uncle was killed in one of the raids. “After my uncle was killed,” Richard says, “my family knew that more danger was coming and if we didn’t leave we would be finished.” So, Richard, his family and many others abandoned their village and walked to Uganda. At the time, his older brothers, Silvestro and Clement, were away on business and, as a result, became separated from the family. The arduous journey was fraught with danger. Rebels were on the hunt for men and boys to conscript into their army to fight the government. Anyone who refused to fight was killed. Fortunately, Richard’s group was lead by experienced guides who zigzagged and doubled back to prevent the rebels from tracing their footsteps. After a month, the refugees crossed the Nile River into the safety of Uganda. Meanwhile, his two brothers managed to escape Sudan, eventually making their way to the United States. For several months, Richard, his parents and two sisters lived in a warehouse with other wayward families. Their new life presented its own challenges. Some Ugandans envied the relief supplies the refugees received. When night fell, they would raid the warehouse and steal supplies. Even worse, Richard’s baby sister, Angwa, died during those first months in Uganda. In all, the family spent eight years there. In 2005, Richard and his family joined his older brothers in the U.S. Richard enrolled in San Francisco’s college preparatory Stuart Hall High School. A short time later, he came started a summer job search and was introduced to Susan Murphy, Director of Crittenton Jobs. “The good thing about Crittenton Jobs is that everyone is so friendly,” he says. “And they give you good advice on finding a job.” The jobs readiness program helped Richard learn how to search for jobs using the internet, how to create a resume, and how to approach unfamiliar people and seek information. He also learned the importance of personal relationships and networking. Still, he wasn’t solely interested in his own well-being – he had promises to keep. One was to help pay for the schooling of his sister’s daughters back in Uganda. Murphy, FCS’ Jobs Director, showed him how to do it. “Susan explained to me that there are many ways to raise money in America,” Richard says. Working with some friends, Richard sold donuts and washed cars. Using his newly acquired internet skills, he started a Facebook page to raise funds. Eventually, he raised enough money to send his nieces to school. Better still, his sister was so inspired by the things her children were learning that she decided to go to school herself. In June, Richard graduated and has been preparing for the upcoming fall semester when he will shore up his reading and writing skills at a local community college. At the end of a year, he’ll begin studying international business at St. Mary’s College. Richard has come far and has far to go. Yet he doesn’t travel alone. “I want to go into business to provide jobs to people, to travel the world and learn about different cultures,” he says. “But I am also determined to help the people of Sudan. A lot of the foreign aid the country receives is wasted. My goal is to start a school for the poor people there. “That war started before I was born, and it’s still going on. If you are not educated, you have no power, and few choices except going to war. So many of the adults in Sudan are traumatized by what’s happened to them. But if you can educate the children of Sudan, it will change their whole society. With education, you have choices.” Crittenton Teens: Breaking through BarriersIda B. Wells High School – home to Crittenton Teens – recently celebrated its largest-ever graduating class. Sixty young people held their heads high as they walked across the stage, tassels dangling, faces beaming, to accept their diplomas. Seventy-five percent the graduates completed the Crittenton Teens Career and College Planning class. These youngsters journeyed through the worst adversities and wondered whether they would ever get through school and graduate. “I have never witnessed an auditorium so full of enthusiastic families,” says Judy Jacobs, FCS’ Crittenton Teens Coordinator. “The joy was palpable.” Jacobs was especially impressed by how much the teens grew as people. Many began with chips on their shoulders. Most were angry and emotionally shut-down. After working with Jacobs, they had positive attitudes, new skills, and confidence about their futures. (The program helps youngsters learn how to create positive life patterns and to take charge of their destinies. They learn about academic and GPA improvement, goal-setting and planning, personal health, sexuality and delayed pregnancy or fatherhood, and job skills and financial independence.) Many succeed despite serious challenges. One student lived with drug-addicted relatives who spend grocery money on drugs. Yet she managed to graduate and will be going to City College in the fall. Another faced the challenge of being gay and “out” in high school. Yet his strength, courage and wonderful sense of humor saw him through. One young woman initially pushed away people who tried to help her. She felt smarter than anyone else because she had gone to a private school. During the two years she was in the program, she mellowed out and she graduated proudly, just like everyone else. Yet another found it hard to break away from gang ties because the members were cruel and didn’t want him to leave. Although he feared for his life, he handled the situation with intelligence so he could go to school and succeed. “I am just so proud of these kids,” Jacobs says. “To go to this graduation feels different for me than other graduations because I know what the students have had to overcome to be there. It truly was a celebration.”  17 to 1 ROI for Early Care & EducationThe benefits of funding early care and education for young low-income children exceed the costs of doing so by as much as 17 to 1, according to a new report issued by the Bay Area Council. New advances in brain research shows that 90% of brain growth occurs in the first three years of a child's life, and that "early experiences actually shape the architecture of the brain as it develops and have a uniquely powerful effect on later capacity to learn." According to the report, when low-income children receive high quality subsidized child care, they score higher IQs and perform better throughout school, are less likely to be incarcerated as juveniles or adults, are less likely to be unemployed as adults and contribute more taxes over their working careers, and are less likely to smoke and rely on social services.
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