ADVERTISER CHRISTMAS FUND
Hungry family about to lose welfare

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

"He said 'Fix me my food. Give me my shoes,'" the battered spouse recalled. "He took the last of our food."

She will never forget the sound of her hungry children crying that day. "I told them they had to wait, that we cannot pick up food until Saturday."

About a month later, E.K. saw her husband again. "He was with another woman and said he was happy with her," she said. "He never once asked how the kids were."

E.K. struggled for two years to overcome depression and start a new life with the help of relatives.

She and her children, ages 11 to 16, are living in public housing. E.K. works part-time as a house cleaner, earning $6 an hour. Her monthly income of about $420 and food stamps barely covers basic needs, and will grow tighter when she loses welfare assistance at the end of the year.

Rent and utility bills eat up most of her money. School lunches are her children's main meal.

"We eat mostly soup and rice at home," she said. "It is a miracle that we survive each day."

E.K. would like a couch and new clothes for her children, who are teased at school for wearing the same clothes every week. The family would like to have a place to sit other than the floor.

"It's hard, but I like my life now," she said. "I don't have to worry about me or the children being hit."

Donations to The Advertiser Christmas Fund

• In loving memory of Loretta Mau and Emma Mauz $25
• In memory of William J. and Ruth E. Merz 25
• In memory of Robert A. Faurot 1,000
• In memory of Masato and Dorothy Endo 50
• In memory of Geri M. Boyd 200
• In memory of William Takaezu 50
• In memory of Wing Yee and Sam Moi Wee 200
• In memory of David O. Gillette 200
• In memory of Clifford Chee 25
• In loving memory of Betty M. Takehara 25
• In loving memory Bruce Y. Yamashita 25
• In memory of Isaac D. Hall Sr. and Daniel L. Naone Jr. 100
• In memory of Herbert H. Hee 50
• In memory of Reynold Y.S. Leong 50
• In loving memory of Susan Lee Lukacovic 25
• In memory of Ricardo T. Murakami 25
• In memory of Haksoon and James Mercado and René Catalan 50
• In memory of Vivian Minamoto 50
• In honor of Yuriko Hamada 50
• In honor of Nadine Cohen 50
• In honor of Christine Hamada 50
• In honor of Joshua Cohen 50
• In honor of Verna Anama 50
• Stanley Hamada 50
• Patrick E. Carvalho 10
• Herbert K. and Jane T. Niitsuma 20
• Sunshine Ruiz 25
• Lucile Mistysn and James Smith Mistysn 25
• Collette L. Akana 25
• Shannon L. Inouye 25
• Pauline Yanagisawa 25
• E. Jean Garcia 25
• Yotsugi Sakata 25
• A.C. and Y.S. Nelson 25
• Mary H. Le Monnier 25
• Lois C. Loomis and Patricia L. Donnelly 25
• Joseph Terry Sr., USMC Ret. 25
• May N. and Anthony Tomihama 25
• Robert E. and Marian R. Allard Cdr. USN Ret. 25
• Alden I. and Doris K. Avery 25
• Donald T. and Doris T. Onaga 25
• Clarkson D. Chin 25
• Samuel K.H. and Elsie Y. Nam 25
• Joseph A. and Gladys Lopes 25
• Darcella Evette Cooper Sanders 25
• Lavonne West 25
• Rhea Yamashiro 25
• Raymond E. and Nancy S. Hada 25
• George M. and Jean S. Goda 25
• Gertrude Gally Margah 25
• Ronald A. and Manjit K. Reddick 25
• Joseph M. Nerenberg and Amy M. Waterman 25
• Jerry and Sharon Wilhelmy 25
• Mr. and Mrs. Calvin K. H. Loo 25
• Sesilia Tatofi 25
• Ronald S. and Donna M. Kats 25
• Norman and Debra Arakawa 25
• M. and S.O. Ota 25
• Shari Endo 25
• Juan and Karen K. Roldan Jr. 30
• Donna M. Maier 50
• Mr. and Mrs. Alex C. Tim 25
• Helen K. Freyer 35
• Mark Heyd, H.C.F. 50
• James and Anne N. Sadayasu 50
• Satoru Hijirida dba: Wendy H. 50
• Ruth Calhoun 50
• Col. Andrew Kowalski, USAF, Ret 50
• Mary Clarke Rankin 50
• Henry and Judy Yu 50
• Betty E. and Ronald K. Morikawa, TTE 50
• Melanie Gottlieb 50
• Seiji and Keiko Sasaoka 50
• Dr. Lester and Winifred W. Yee 50
• Ann K. and Herman S. Kon 50
• S. George and Dorathea M. Schneider 50
• Allan B. and Leatrice Yokoi-Moon 50
• Thomas I. and Ethel N. Fragas 50
• Robert K. and Ethel T. Itamoto 50
• Thomas Y. Nakano 50
• Curtis D. Lee, Col. USA Ret. 100
• Ryan and Rachel 100
• David W.K. Chi 100
• Nelson Kau Family 100
• Paul and Robbie Heyd 100
• Art and Nancy Moss Jr. 100
• Diane S. Lau 100
• Kristine Pagan 100
• Susan M. Killeen 100
• Lorraine Y. and Lawrence Y.T. Mow 100
• Patricia A. Moore 100
• Richard and Michiko M. Okinaka 100
• Mary Graff 100
• Francis C. Jordan 100
• Kevin C. Steiger 100
• Mary Ann and R. Peter Knerr 100
• Linda K. Kreis 100
• Ralph C. and Joyce F. Hook 100
• Helen Noh and Edwin K.W. Lee 100
• Edward T. Yasuda 100
• The Murata Family 100
• James D. and Patricia L. Abts 100
• Cheong and Yuriko K. Lum 150
• John D. and Lori A.M. Yamane 200
• Stephen S.F. Choy, PHD Inc. 200
• Saundra E. Keyes 300
• Frank and Millie Dillard 250
• Bill Tibbetts 500
• Gale and Arnold Warshawsky 10
• Gerard and Andra Vincent 25
• Charlene and Kenneth Aoki 25
• E. Bredo 25
• Jim Duhn 25
• Robert Dinelli 25
• Col. (Ret) Patricia L. Nolin and Col. (Ret) Fredric G. Noritake 25
• LT. Richard J. and Lucinda R. Pool 25
• Col. and Mrs. Rollins C. Reineck 25
• Douglas T. and Judith D. Takaba 25
• Gordon and Carol Liu 30
• Tammy N. Toguchi 40
• David S. Boissoneault 50
• Michael and Margaret Boll 50
• Kaawaloa Ohana 50
• Alan K.T. Lau 50
• George Lucas 50
• Fran Lyons, Ph.D. 50
• Sandra F. and Steven Y. Nishimura 50
• Robert G. Reckendorf 50
• Alan T. Okamoto 50
• Walter M.and Nancy T. Shiraishi 100
• O. Fukuda Rentals 100
• Dr. Thanh and Mrs. Xuan Huynh 200
• Lyan and Milton Lee 250
• Chun Kern Dodd Beaman Wong
• Staff and Attorneys 300
• Federal Managers Association Chapter 19 1,000
• Anonymous 25
• Anonymous 25
• Anonymous 30
• Anonymous 50
• Anonymous 50
• Anonymous 50
• Anonymous 50
• Anonymous 75
• Anonymous 100
• Anonymous 100
• Anonymous 100
• Anonymous 250
• Anonymous 25
• Anonymous 25
• Anonymous 25
• Anonymous 38.31
• Anonymous 100

Total $12,518.31

Total to date: $34,242.36