El Dorado, Kan. -
Each year, the U.S. State Department sponsors the diversity visa lottery, a Congressionally mandated program that awards 50,000 visas to people who meet strict eligibility requirements and live in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
The visa winners are chosen by a computer-generated, random lottery drawing.
This year, four of El Dorado resident John Paul Wirba’s family members won the lottery and are scheduled to arrive in Kansas today.
John Paul, who is originally from Cameroon in West Africa, has been in the U.S. for the past five years and attends Butler Community College. He also has a full time job to support his wife Donielle and daughter Camryn.
“I haven’t seen my family for over five years,” he said. “Neither has any of them met Camryn, my little girl. It’s been pretty hard for them and me, as all we do is send pictures back and forth.”
That time of waiting to see them again is finally over, as John Paul’s parents Joe and Rosemary, brother Christian and sister Laura will all be moving in with him.
“They will be living with us for the next six months to a year or however long it takes them to get used to their environment,” said John Paul. “It will be a better life for mom and dad, and even better for my brother and sister.”
Even though his family members speak English, they will still have many adjustments to make. They were not able to bring many of their belongings with them, and will have to get used to the different climate.
John Paul and Donielle have also made adjustments to accommodate his family. They used their student loan money to purchase the plane tickets, which were about $2,000 each, and will take on the responsibility of providing food and shelter for the new arrivals.
They are thankful for the support that has already been shown by fellow parishioners at St. John’s Catholic Church, and are asking if anyone else in the community might be willing to help out as well.
“Thanks for the support already shown,” said John Paul. “It might be little but it helps. My family is going to appreciate it a lot. They are hardworking and will take advantage of the opportunities they have.”
“It’s an amazing thing that they get the chance to come here,” added Donielle.
If you would like to find out how you can help the Wirbas, call St. John’s Church at 321-4796 or John Paul and Donielle at 768-1281.
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