After nearly 24 hours of flights, landings and layovers, Linfield College freshman Mohamed Toure arrived at Portland International. Unfortunately, his suitcases did not.
The 18-year-old from Mali, a country in West Africa, was met by his new Friendship Family — McMinnville residents who volunteered to befriend one of Linfield’s international students. “We got him an emergency pack of clothes and snacks,” said host mom Carrie Larson.
“Everything happened really fast,” said Mohamed, who speaks English, French, a little Spanish and two Malian languages, Bambara and Songhai. “I was just really happy and grateful I had a friendship family.”
Toure’s experience of coming to the United States is featured in a recent News-Register story by Starla Pointer, “Family, Friendship and Pumpkin Pie.” Read the complete story.
