A Peachtree

City family is getting an up close and personal look at

the ravages of war.

Gerry

Carolan-Tolbert and her family are hosting an 11-member

Kosovar family.

Jamie and

Kathleen Shanahan and their friends are selling soft

drinks at their subdivision pool to raise money for the

refugees.

Braelinn

Baptist Church and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church are

planning to sponsor a refugee family. Overnight, the

strained faces of refugees flashed on TV screens during

the evening news have names attached, children in tow and

stories to tell.

Monday

evening,, a Kosovar family arrived in Peachtree City

after a grueling flight straight from Albania to New York

and Atlanta. Their passage, arranged by Catholic Social

Services, continued when a Holiday Inn van transported

them to the Carolan-Tolbert home in Peachtree City where

they will stay until long-term housing can be arranged.

They are

being sponsored by Holy Trinity Catholic Church and its

parishioners who have provided everything from pajamas

and tooth brushes on the night of their arrival to food

and entertainment.

Since the

family, which is composed of a mother and father in their

early 50s ,a son, 28 and his wife and two small children

aged 1 and 2, another son aged 24 and four daughters,

aged 20, 19, 17 and 12, does not speak English,

Carolan-Tolbert said they have communicated through

charades, and drawing pictures. "

It's going

very well," she reported. Through a translator,

Carolan-Tolbert and the church sponsors have learned that

there are also cousins of the family also in the United

States.

They are

trying to contact them through various channels.

"I get

the sense that they are still worried about another

daughter who is still in Kosovo," Carolan-Tolbert

said.

So far, a

neighbor has been able to find an Albanian radio station

on the Internet and is attempting to pinpoint the Web

site which carries information about missing Kosovars.

In the

meantime, the visitors have been tooling around Peachtree

City in a golf cart, with stops at the playground,

library and city hall.

"Yesterday

they went bowling," Carolan-Tolbert reported.

Plans are

still unsettled for the family. A house was being

prepared for them on Clydesdale Road but apparently,

neighbors learned that 11 people would be moving into the

small house and notified the city code enforcement

officer.

According

to Peachtree City code, the square footage was not enough

to accommodate the refugees.

Peachtree

City Building Department code enforcement officer Tammy

Babb said the people who called about the refugess were

not upset, but just wanted to check the law on square

footage requirements.

"We

don't want to make them feel unwelcome," she said.

Babb said

the square footage of the house would be able to

accomodate nine residents.

The efforts

of the Shanahans, Jamie 13 and Kathleen 10 have already

raised $156 for the refugee effort.

The pair

used $40 of their own money to purchase soft drinks to

sell at the Timberlake subdivision pool and are nearing

the end of their inventory.

Lending a

hand in the fund raiser was John, Kevin and Brian Kull

and Emily Cewak, all young friends of the Shanahans.

Braelinn

Baptist is seeking to sponsor a family in July through

World Relief for three months. Savannah Rogers, a

coordinator for the project, said the church is seeking

volunteers to assist the family while they are here and

possible employment. Phone Braelinn Baptist for

information.

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