As I walked in with Pastor Rick Kremer to tour Asylum Hill’s unique non-profit furniture making business, Waseem was feeding a board into a planer, Ron was putting the finishing touches on a cabinet, and two volunteers were crafting tables and lamps. It’s a typical busy morning scene on Fresh Start Pallet Products LLC‘s shop floor. … More Fresh Starts Begin with Grace
“Think about yourself and what you do for your community. You are making a difference by helping one or two even if you cannot help the whole community. Just pick one at a time. Remember you are making a difference.” — Jody Putnam Mary Joellen “Jody” Putnam’s philosophy recalls the last line of The Starfish Story,”It made … More Jody Made a Difference
Ethiopian refugee Kafar Hassan’s dream is coming true. Forced to leave his son Robel behind in Johannesburg, South Africa where they had found safe haven for several years, Kafar arrived in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood in 2013 when resettled by local Catholic Charities Migration, Refugee and Immigration Services. In Asylum Hill he found welcoming support and … More Making Kafar’s Dream Come True
“What a striking contrast between what we’re doing in this city, and this neighborhood versus what’s going on in Washington. Some people build walls. In this state and this community we embrace people,” proclaimed Connecticut State Representative Matt Ritter at the Asylum Hill Multicultural Resource Corner ribbon cutting ceremony on January 26, 2017. Ritter’s comments … More A Welcome Resource
Georges Annan-Kingsley is my friend. As a long persecuted political refugee from Côte d’Ivoire, Georges suffered chronic, stress-induced hypertension causing his kidneys to fail. After a long, courageous bureaucratic struggle to escape western Africa via Ghana, aided by the French consulate, Georges received medical refugee status in the United States. He arrived in near fatal condition. He … More My Friend Needs a Kidney Transplant
“Welcome to your greater Hartford African community radio, GhanaBeats Radio, broadcasting the heartbeat of Africa direct from our Bloomfield, Connecticut, USA studio.” Yes, you read it right: “from our Bloomfield, Connecticut, USA studio.” Georges Annan-Kingsley, an artist, author and teacher, and John Ackeifi, a computer engineer and entrepreneur, from Hartford and Bloomfield respectively, have teamed up … More Listen to the Heartbeat of Africa in Hartford
Reena Shrestha, Georges Annan-Kingsley, and Eman Solman pictured above were among seven Asylum Hill exhibiting artists featured, along with inspiring youth performances by The Choir School of Hartford and the Hartford City Ballet, at the 2016 Town & County Club Spring Forum Hidden Treasures: Arts & Culture on Asylum Hill. These treasures should not … More Hidden Treasures Revealed
“They’re desperate and have lost everything. They live in fear and are very grateful for what we do. Most are very spiritual and grateful to God.”— Paula Mann-Agnew, Catholic Charities’ director of programs. “Since the Syrian refugee crisis escalated last year, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Hartford (CCAOH) has stood poised to help resettle families sent … More “They’re desperate and have lost everything.”
They are Yakable! Packed on the backs of yaks, that’s how the wind-solar generating systems built by Hartford Public High School’s Academy of Engineering and Green Technology students were transported on the final leg of their trek up to Nepal’s isolated villages of Saldang, Namdo, and Karang. This week, Thinley Lhondup Lama, popular Nepalese actor and village … More Village Elder from Nepal Thanks Hartford Students for Power Turbines
It’s New Year 2755 on the Karen Calendar! The Karen New Year festivities on January 16, 2016, danced with joy! The day rang in the 10th Annual New Year Celebration sponsored by the Connecticut Karen Community Association of Hartford. The yearly gathering was at the Cathedral of St. Joseph’s former school in Hartford’s Asylum Hill … More New Year Celebration 2755!
Red Truck Stonecatcher 