"I am a Beneficiary"... former refugee gives from his IRA
Photo: Ron Blaum/CWS |
Story by Ron Blaum/CWS
In October of 2007, Church World Service received a phone call from Dr. George Wahab. He asked for the information necessary to make a gift from his IRA, his individual retirement account. As he talked, he shared the story of how Church World Service provided critical support at key points in his life.
In 1948, when he was eleven years old, George Wahab’s family, Palestinian Christians, was forced from their homeland as it was partitioned. To avoid ending up in a refugee camp, the family fled to Egypt. But Wahab remembers that they were not welcome and the family struggled. He shared the still vivid memory of how his father’s entry visa was stamped “MAY NOT WORK, EITHER FOR PAY OR FOR NO PAY” for a period of three years. All they had to live on during that time was the money they carried with them from Palestine.
Though he was young, Dr. Wahab has never forgotten that it was Church World Service that paid the fees in Egypt, enabling him and his siblings to attend primary school and provided the only clothes he had as a schoolboy.
After graduating from secondary school in 1955, Wahab tried to come to the United States, but was told there was a 20-year wait. He persevered and put himself through medical school in Egypt. But in 1963, he was allowed to immigrate to Canada and, again, it was Church World Service that provided timely support by giving him a travel loan to pay the airfare for his flight from Egypt.
Once in Canada, Dr. Wahab completed his residency as an obstetric anesthesiologist and met and married his French Canadian wife, Kathleen, who was a registered nurse. Later a hospital in San Diego County recruited Dr. Wahab to join their staff, so the couple relocated to San Diego, CA, where he practiced medicine and they raised their four children.
Now retired, Dr. Wahab turned 701/2 in 2007, and that enabled him to make gifts directly from his IRA. With appreciation for his near lifetime association with Church World Service, Dr. Wahab and his wife provided a significant and much-appreciated gift. He was very clear in telling us why they made the gift: “I admire your work. Your aid is not denied to anyone. You provide it with no expectations or proselytizing – and I am a beneficiary.”
George Wahab is one of many Church World Service donors who gave IRA gifts in 2007. He is also one of the many former refugees who support Church World Service. We thank Dr. Wahab for his support and for sharing his story with us.
What is your story? Have you considered making a gift from your IRA? Contact our office to see if you are eligible to make an IRA gift in 2008. Call Ron Blaum at 800-297-1516, ext. 444, or e-mail him at .