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Flood of Support
by Melissa Maynard, Jackson Citizen Patriot, June 8, 2004
For more articles like this
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https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Sgt. Billy
Igafo-Te'o and his wife, Jackie, had hoped use the $5,000 they
had saved up to treat their family to a nice vacation when he
comes home in July on a two-week leave from Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, where he is stationed for the National Guard.
But the money is going to be needed to repair flooding, caused
when a baby-sitter left the outside spigot on for hours and
worsened by this spring's storms.
The foundation of the Igafo-Te'o's house is eroding. Jackie and
her 10-year-old son, Sebastian, have been sick on and off for
two months because of mold caused by the flooding.
What's more, Michael, the couple's 9-year-old son who has
autism, has destroyed "almost everything we own," and his fits
and a tendency to run out in traffic force them to stay at home
most of the time, Jackie Igafo-Te'o said.
"We can't go out to dinner," Jackie said. "We can't go out to
the park. We can't do the normal things families do."
Still, the family got some good news recently.
The damage caused by the flooding is going to be fixed, thanks
to support from the National Guard and Everdry, a
weather-proofing company based in Ann Arbor.
The flooding caused $12,000 worth of damage, but when company
officials learned about the Igafo-Te'os' predicament, they asked
how much she could pay.
They've agreed to do the work for $5,000, which means the
company will lose money on the deal.
Vicki Thompson, the Michigan National Guard's Family Assistance
Center coordinator, said she's working with relief organizations
to see if they can help foot the Igafo-Te'os' bill. Thompson
also is trying to find help with the remaining damage, which
includes a collapsed room in the basement and the front porch.
All of Billy Igafo-Te'o's clothing, which was being stored in
boxes in the basement, was ruined by the flood.
"We're thrilled to be able to do what we can for the deployed
families," Thompson said. "We are family."
Jackie Igafo-Te'o admits that she and her husband were pretty
depressed before the help came.
"He's over there giving up his family and his life, and he's
stuck in the middle of nowhere," Jackie Igafo-Te'o said. "And
who's taking care of us? For a while, the answer was nobody."
Friends and acquaintances had said they would do what they
could, but most of those offers hadn't panned out.
Jackie Igafo-Te'o said she's thrilled her husband isn't going to
have to worry about fixing the basement when he comes home in
December.
"He's happy," she said. "He's ecstatic that we're getting taken
care of."
How to Help: If you'd like to help the Igafo-Te'o family,
please contact the Michigan National Guard at 517-334-6886.
You can reach reporter Melissa Maynard at 768-4945 or
mmaynard@citpat.com.
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