In December 2009, Muhammad Abdelmolal, his wife and four children, all under age 5, arrived in the United States after fleeing genocide in Sudan. Their path to safety led them to Chad before they eventually resettled in Seattle and began a transformative journey with Neighborhood House.
“It was hard leaving my home behind and scary starting a new life, especially with young children.”
Navigating a new country presented countless challenges. Muhammad and his family arrived speaking no English. Thanks to a connection from the International Rescue Committee, they were introduced to Neighborhood House’s English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Even after all these years, Muhammad still fondly remembers Carlos, his first ESL teacher. “Carlos was great, he helped with speaking, reading, writing, resumes, and job applications”.
Refugees like Muhammad and his family have very limited time to get on their feet since refugee cash assistance lasts for only 8 months. Muhammad knew he needed to find a job and more resources to support his family. He enrolled in Neighborhood House’s computer classes and learned how to access the housing websites and apply for benefits. We connected Muhammad’s family with one of our partners, the Seattle Housing Authority, and he was able to secure stable housing for his family. Muhammad reminded us how grateful he is to still be using these services today.
Having worked as a teacher and bike mechanic back home, Muhammad knew he could do more. We connected him to our employment and job training programs. With the job training lasting into the evening, Muhammad recalls that Neighborhood House “always let the children come”, allowing him and his wife to take full advantage of our job training opportunities.
“Neighborhood House did it all!” he emphasized, reflecting on how much the organization helped his family. After completing various programs at Neighborhood House, Muhammad enrolled at South Seattle Community College. His hard work paid off as he completed his ESL courses and secured his first job in the US at Home Depot.
Encouraged by his initial success, Muhammad pursued further education at Renton Technical College, where he enrolled in a mechanics course. He laughed as he told us that he thought he needed to ask his Neighborhood House ESL teacher for permission, who naturally said “of course!”. Three years later, with support from Neighborhood House, he graduated with an associate degree and started working as an auto mechanic.
Today, Muhammad’s family has expanded to nine children, all of whom live at home except for a daughter, who is a traveling nurse. The other Abdelmolal children are also thriving, with one working as a doctor, one pursuing a career in communications, another actively involved in his baseball team, and the younger ones in our early learning programs. Hwa, Muhammad’s wife, used Neighborhood House’s resources to train in childcare and worked at a daycare in White Center for three years before choosing to stay home to care for their growing family.
Muhammad and Hwa’s youngest daughter is currently enrolled in Neighborhood House’s early learning program. Their daughter recently faced difficulties with speaking but benefited greatly from the resources and high-quality teaching offered through our early learning program. Within three weeks, she showed significant improvement, demonstrating our teacher’s expertise in addressing her speech delay.
Muhammad’s involvement with Neighborhood House has not only transformed his own life but has also inspired him to give back to the community. In Fall 2023, he became President of Neighborhood House’s Policy Council, a parent body elected by each classroom – they share governance with the board and provide oversight to the early learning program. In this leadership role, Muhammad joined other parents from across the state in Olympia to advocate for families like his.
Looking to the future, Muhammad dreams of opening his own early learning and education program back in his home country of Sudan. He hopes to name it “Neighborhood House” as an homage to the organization that gave him his start in the US. He considers himself among the most fortunate and aims to find more ways to give back. As Muhammad puts it, “you are so lucky to be born here, and I am so lucky to be here today”.
In reflecting on his journey, Muhammad shares that while he did not choose Seattle, he has never thought of living anywhere else since arriving: “I don’t like it, but I love it.” His story is a testament to the resilience of immigrant families and the vital role organizations like Neighborhood House play in supporting their integration and success.
While Muhammad continues to find ways to contribute to Neighborhood House and his community, this is your chance to give. Your generosity will help sustain our programs and create more success stories like Muhammad’s. Please consider donating today to support Neighborhood House and the families we serve.