We all experience powerful life-changing moments, and this story tells one of mine. I started coaching refugee boys soccer five years ago. Our teams were called the Fugees and competed all over Georgia. At first, I expected to be involved in their lives as a coach; never did I think that these kids would become my extended family. One day during my first season, I was dropping a kid home when I looked over at him and noticed he was holding his stomach.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "I am hungry," he responded.
"Don't worry about it, you'll be home soon and you can get something to eat." I responded, thinking that he was trying to get me to pick up some fast food for him.
"No, there is no food at home," he reported.
I struggled to understand, "There must be something, bread, cheese..."
"No, Coach, it's that time of the month."
"Time of the month?" Later I found out that "time of the month" means the time the food stamps run out. That night I walked him to his apartment. Inside, it was complete darkness. I looked for food, but there was none. Instead, I found his mother huddled in the corner of the living room, rocking back and forth, shaking her head, and muttering, "I work hard every day, every day I work."
After buying groceries and trying to draw a budget for his family (and failing miserably), I realized that I had barely scratched the surface. I felt so naive and helpless. Children living less than five miles away were going to bed hungry, because their parents weren't getting paid enough to make ends meet.
This is just one of many experiences with my players that has completely changed the way I see the world. The past five years have been a wonderful yet terrifying journey led by the children I coach, who guide me and keep me accountable every day for the decisions I make. It is because of them that I have founded the Fugees Family, and it is for them that I ask you to join our family.
Sincerely,
Luma Mufleh
David Williams, President David is a Partner in the Real Estate Practice Group of the Atlanta law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Prior to working at Seyfarth Shaw, David worked as a Partner in the Atlanta office of King & Spalding. David's specialty is representing real estate funds in connection with the formation and structuring of the funds, the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of the funds' real estate portfolios. David studied French and German at Oxford University and earned his J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, and the American Bar Association.
Joel Reed, Treasurer Joel is a Senior Partner at the accounting firm of Nichols Cauley and Associates. Joel has more than 30 years of experiences in private accounting, focusing on audit and taxation, including financial institutions, not-for-profit entities, estates and trusts. Joel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Tracy Ediger, Secretary Tracy is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Fugees Family, Inc. She directs all volunteers and educational activities for Fugees programs. She earned her MD/PhD degrees from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2003, and has worked for the Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community; as well as volunteered at Jubilee Partners in Comer, Georgia, teaching English and cultural courses to incoming refugees.
Luma Mufleh, Founder Luma is founder and director of Fugees Family, Inc., which incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2006. Ms. Mufleh has coached soccer for over 10 years, and is currently the head coach of the Fugees Soccer teams. She has owned two small businesses: Fresh Start for America, a cleaning business employing refugee and immigrant workers, and Ashton's, a coffee shop and café. She earned her B.A. in Anthropology from Smith College.
Kathy Bremer is the Managing Director of BoardWalk Consulting, a non-profit consulting group specializing in matters involving non-profit board development. Kathy has extensive experience in both public relations and non-profit management. For 8 years, Kathy was Partner and Managing Atlanta Director of Porter-Novelli. Kathy also worked for several years as the Senior Vice President for External Relations for CARE, managing strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, and corporate partnerships.
Joy DiBenedetto is the Founder and Chief Editorial Strategist for Human Unlimited Media, AKA HUM and HUMNEWS, working to build the world's first and only full world, all-nation news agency. Until March of 2008, she was vice president of network booking and research for the CNN News Groups. She joined CNN in 1995, and went on to create and manage GuestSource, CNN's guest booking service for television and radio affiliates. Prior to this, DiBenedetto was a press officer for CARE, the international relief organization, and a caseworker handling senior citizens for New York City.
Nancy Dietz is a campaign director at Coxe Curry & Associates, a fundraising and consulting firm for nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining Coxe Curry in 2005, Nancy served as the Interim Director of the Atlanta Women's Foundation and as the Director of Development at The Paideia School in Atlanta. From 1987-1997, Nancy worked at Harvard University as Director of External Relations at the Graduate School of Education; Director of Alumni Relations at the John F. Kennedy School of Government; and Associate Director and Student Coordinator at the Institute of Politics. Prior to that, she was a Lecturer and Coordinator of the Communications and Media Studies Program at Tufts University and Director of Legal Projects at Action for Children's Television. She also taught elementary school and Head Start in Camden, New Jersey. Dietz currently serves on the board of Mental Health America of Georgia, on the Advisory Council of Cool Girls, Inc., and as a member of United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta's Community Impact Council.
Elise Eplan is currently self-employed as a Philanthropic Consultant. In the most recent past, Elise served as Vice President for Special Initiatives of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Prior to this, Eplan was the Program Director for The America Project, an urban community development program of The Carter Center. Elise was also the founding president of Hands On Atlanta, and she currently serves on the Hands On Atlanta advisory board. Elise is also the past President of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
Elizabeth Holland is the Manager of Community Relations and Corporate Sustainability for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. In this role, she oversees the company's community outreach efforts and long-term environmental and sustainability goals. She began her career at Turner Broadcasting in 1997 as one of the founding members of the company's Corporate Affairs department. She is a member of the LEAD Atlanta class of 2006, a program of Leadership Atlanta. She is a graduate of Smith College and holds her certification in community relations from Boston College.
Christine Kathurima is the Patient Relations Coordinator at Northside Hospital. In this capacity Christine has communicated with a variety of organizations and conducted fundraising campaigns for groups not limited to Hope for Africa, American Cancer Society, United Way, and Northside Hospital.
Susan May is a retired supportive housing director in Atlanta, GA. As Executive Director of Project Interconnections, Inc., she developed O'Hern House for mentally ill adults who were homeless. Prior to that, she founded the Council on Battered Women; as Executive Director, she built the shelter and education program to serve 5,000. For 10 years she was a consultant on fundraising and board development with small nonprofit organizations. Sue is currently a member of the International Women's Foundation, serves on the board of Decision Bridges, Inc., and is clerk of the Finance Committee for Atlanta Friends Meeting.
Fugees Family, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. We build upon the power of soccer to galvanize these kids by giving them the support and structure they need to realize their vast potential. Five years ago, Coach Luma Mufleh started a Fugees team to provide refugee boys with free access to organized soccer. Since then, our programming has grown to include year-round soccer for 86 boys aged 10-18, after-school tutoring, a private academy, and an academic enrichment camp.
The Fugees Family provides a space for the kids to heal and meet others like them, from different countries, who have been through similar experiences. The players might begin by regarding one another with distrust or even hostility. By conducting drills with various players grouped together and enforcing an English-only policy at all times, the kids learn to cooperate. Africans and Asians, Northern and Southern Sudanese, Muslims and Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims - they all play on the same team, finding their commonalities instead of focusing on their differences. Their bonds make them more secure in their own identity and more capable of acclimating to the mainstream.
The Fugees Family works to afford our kids equal access to the educational opportunities others in their age group have, helping them to acquire the social and academic skills necessary to succeed. Our goal is for the players to work hard and graduate from high school with a plan for college, technical school, or job training. We are committed to an approach that takes the whole individual into account: we are consistently involved in all areas of the kids' lives, we set high expectations on and off the field, we foster a familial atmosphere, and we have fun.