Charu has done well for herself. And for those lucky enough to meet her, their lives have probably changed for the better as well.
It's been a bit more than 10 years now since Charu Newhouse, a Springettsbury Township woman, begged Yorkers for food and clothing, all to be sent to the refugee camp at which she was working, a world away. Yorkers responded with tons of goods, all of which she maneuvered to the Debrecen, Hungary, facility.
She plopped herself down in the middle of camp and proceeded to organize paperwork and the frayed lives of everyone she met there. Some wanted to go back home to Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Bosnia or one of another 33 countries. Others wanted to go someplace new that they could call home.
Above are two photos from the camp. That's Charu on the left, speaking with a crowd of Pakistani men. At right is Abed, who would later become her husband. The other photo is of a young boy-- one of 1,000 people in the camp-- who tried to make the best of a very difficult situation.
Charu lives in Miami today, the state director of an immigration advocacy center. She married Abed Al-Sahli, the Palestinian refugee she met at the Debrecen camp and is now the proud mother of two young daughters. The oldest, Leila, is four years old, smart as could be, says grandma Debra Newhouse, and looks just like Charu-- blonde and beautiful. Yasmine is one year old, and the image of her handsome father, dark eyes and dark hair.
Charu's zeal for helping the underdog was, and is, remarkable. She could have graduated from college and settled into a comfy, suburban lifestyle. Instead, she traveled to Hungary, looking to help anyone who could use it. And she's still working for the underdog today.
The Daily Record's recording of her work was a fascinating study of many world cultures tossed into a mixing bowl of one broken-down former army camp. I almost felt sorry for the camp director who tried to defend her camp's poor conditions against Charu and YDR reporter Melissa Tyrrell's questioning.
Charu's fight for human rights continues today, and I thank her for the opportunity to record her work. The refugees thank her for the new direction in which she was able to point them.
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