While Youssef continues with his ESL Classes (English as a Second Language) and baking in rented space at Five Herb Pizza in Cranston, work has begun at 107 Ives Street — the future home of Aleppo Sweets! 107 Ives was formally a Portuguese Social Club in the 1970’s, a dance school, and more recently an […]
It was October of 2016. Weary and disoriented, Youssef Akhtarini and his wife Reem sat down in the empty room for their initial intake meeting at the main Refugee Resettlement organization, Dorcas International Institute in Providence, Rhode Island where I volunteer. They were from Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo, Syria, was in the news every day and […]