Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

The novel coronavirus has put life on hold for many around the world, but it didnt stop a family in Omaha from reaching a huge milestone Friday.

With help from an Omaha synagogue and a few friends, an Iraqi refugee family moved into a west Omaha apartment.

Ted, his wife and their two children landed in Omaha 20 days earlier to a heros welcome.

Their arrival took a massive effort that was organized in part by former Marine Ben Wormington of Omaha, who met Ted in 2008 while serving his third tour in Iraq. Ted was an interpreter assigned to Wormingtons reconnaissance unit. Hes referred to as Ted for the sake of his familys safety.

Wormingtons friends and family gathered to greet Ted at the airport with advocates from Lutheran Family Services, fellow veterans and Omahans who had heard Teds story. And Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue, who pledged to help Teds family with furniture and anything else they may need.

The end-all be-all is that it warms our hearts, and its the least that we can do, Abraham said.

Ted said his family was excited and thankful to move into the apartment.

Today was an awesome day with all the support from my friends and even people I dont know, he said. Were very thankful.

He said that while the coronavirus has postponed his application for a drivers license and his children going to school, hes glad that he and his family are moved into their home.

Im praying that everyone stays safe, and Im very grateful, he said.

Oliver Henderson plays first base waiting for some action. Without a left hand Henderson is able to adapt to the world of baseball.

Libby DiBiase runs in a 14-pound vest during a workout at CrossFit Kinesis in Gretna. This Omaha police officer uses CrossFit to keep in shape for her unpredictable job.

Jeff Strufing enjoys being able to help people during group classes at Kosama. Despite his cancer diagnosis, Strufing hasnt let it change his lifestyle. The 46-year-old business owner, husband and father of two still works part-time as a paramedic and teaches weekly classes at three gyms. Hes done it all while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Margie Irfan practices bicep curls during her workout at Life Time Fitness. Iftan entered the world of bodybuilding when she was 46 years old. The Omaha woman has lost 10 percent of her body fat while maintaining the same weight and shes got the toned muscles to prove it.

Jack Mallett practices his tennis skills at Miracle Hill tennis courts. After deciding to quit drinking Mallett, 92, made tennis his addiction.

Michelle Graft runs on the Wabash Trace in Council Bluffs to train for her portion of the MS Run the US relay. Gaft who has MS uses running to keep the symptoms at bay.

Mary Manhart works out at the Downtown YMCA four times a week. She sees the people at the gym as her extended family.

Hadeel Haider started to exercise after being treated forHodgkin's lymphoma, andshe fell in love with Zumba. Haider now teaches Zumba class at the the Maple Street YMCA.

Nancy Nygren works out at least three times a week to help keep off more than 65 pounds that she lost a decade ago. Shes the perfect example of somebody who has lost a significant amount of weight and has done it the right way, said Jennifer Yee, who leads Nygrens boot camp class and is also an instructor in Creighton Universitys exercise science program.

Tom Carney does a workout during kickboxing class. Carney used to work out so he could eat whatever he wanted. Now he understands diet is just as important as exercise.

Rik Zortman runs the name of children who have died of cancer. He has ran the name of more than 250 children since his son's death in 2009.

Katie Chipman, a 12-year-old gymnast with juvenile arthritis, practices at Airborne Academy. Chipman works to hard to compete and only misses practices if her symptoms are too severe.

Joe Reisdorff and Dan Masters grew up in the same town, attending the same church were never close untilReisdorff needed a new kidney and Masters was a match.

Still recovering from a heart transplant, Rick Ganem wouldn't be able to make it to his daughter Sarah's wedding. So she brought the ceremony to his hospital room.

Since starting her weight-loss journey, Keasha Hawkins-Moore is closing in on dropping half of her starting weight 500 pounds. During that journey, she's battled cancer, lost loved ones and strengthened her faith.

Leota "Lee" Brown suffered a stroke and two days later, the 98-year-old was back to her spunky self at home in an assisted-living facility. She's required no therapy since the stroke.

Harley Swanek had been living with an undetected heart condition for the first seven months of her life. It caused her to become unresponsive for more than 30 minutes, leading to a brain injury. Harley's back home and relearning all of her milestones.

See the article here:

Iraqi interpreter and his family move into new home furnished by Omaha synagogue - Omaha World-Herald

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