Naka (22) @ The Menschoring Home of the Burkart Family in South Florida

A note from Sandy Burkart:

“Naka came to our home with a fascinating story of survival. She has been a refugee all her life. We welcomed her into our home when she arrived in Florida as a CRC Ambassador to participate in the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program at FAU.

Barbara and I loved having Naka here and watching her grow in confidence. We are so proud of her and what she has accomplished. There is no doubt in our minds that she will be successful and become a role model for other young African women so they can succeed with hard work, faith, and perseverance in the pursuit of education, making a difference in the lives of others and seeking true happiness. I want to thank the Sunrise Rotary club in South Florida for providing us with their support. 

Naka, we loved participating in your experience and remember, you are a full member of our family!” —Sandy Burkart

A note from Naka Kerba: 

“Many times people hear the word Refugee and they picture criminals, someone who is coming to take over your country or someone who came to hurt you if not physically then financially because now your country has to provide for them with the tax money you as a countryman should be benefiting from. Not many see women and children poorly fed, sad and forced to flee their home in search of a safe place to survive. It is important to take a moment and think about what these Refugees have gone through to get here. To ask how were their lives beforehand and what they had to give up in order to come here. I was born a refugee and had to be raised with that word lingering around my head for so long. As a kid, I never knew what that word meant, all I knew was that people hated us. Maybe it was because of the color of my skin or maybe because of the word itself. As a South Sudanese refugee born in Egypt who grew up between Israel and Uganda, unfortunately, I always knew a society that made me hate the word refugee and hate the reality I was born into. But as I grew up, I realized that people hate what they do not understand and that is why it is important to educate yourself and others about the issues going on in the world today and help raise awareness so that we can live in a safer and better society for everyone.

I graduated in 2016 with academic excellence from the Eastern Mediterranean International School (EMIS) and am now enrolled at the Interdisciplinary Center working on a BA in Government Diplomacy.  Instead of dwelling on the hardships of my life, I am focused on education, my impact in the world at large while being supported endlessly by everyone around me.” —Naka Kerba

Learn More about Barbara and Sandy Burkart

Since 1990, our family has hosted over 30 exchange students, varying in age from 15 to mid-thirties.  Most of these students were affiliated with Rotary and they filled the quiet void of our empty nest.  At times, we were asked how we could take strangers into our home to which we replied, “We call them friends.” And they are. Now, we have friends all over the world with whom we keep in contact and see when they return to our home and stay in our open room at the end of the hall - a room we specifically reserved for friends. 

In our family, we say HAPPINESS IS CREATING MEMORIES and those entering our home have adopted this motto. They come into a loving, caring, engaging, exploratory and fun environment where they assimilate into our family via an exchange of knowledge. We learn about each other’s families, cultures, experiences, needs, and dreams and together we create rules, responsibilities, comprehensive itineraries and a creative plan of action so that they may return to their native countries with fond memories of the USA and the people they met along the way. With hope, we will continue to expand and enjoy our extended family and communicate with them by way of email, social media and even personally when we travel.

In the end, we measure the success of our lives as did the great Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of others
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty; (to earn the respect)
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.”