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Rifka and Smail
Rifka and Smail fled their native country of Bosnia in the midst of a bloody war, arriving in Lexington in November 1995. They made their home here and
![Two women are seated on the stairs of an apartment complete. One wears glasses with dyed dark-auburn hair and a long black cardigan and the other has curly green hair, her hands in the pockets of an orange GAP hoodie, wearing white socks and athletic sandals.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/amy-and-leo.jpg)
Amy and Leo
Amy: “We’ve had several years with very hard transitions. We are so grateful to have this apartment as our home now. And we’re glad to be quarantined together.”
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![Two young boys stand on the concrete steps of a brick home with blue columns; one (left) has his arms crossed behind his back while the other in colorful gingham tilts a blue cup open revealing an earthworm.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/jack-and-finn-with-worm.jpg)
Jack and Finn with Worm
Just before we arrived, Finn had found a worm. He was quite happy to be able to show it off.
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Whitney With Ace
Whitney Walker is a Social Studies Teacher at Lafayette High School, where she teaches Geography and Government. She has been there 15 years. Whitney: “I miss my students.
![A woman with long auburn hair in a red and green flannel shirt stands leaning on the post of a front porch while a man in a denim jacket and beard photographs her while leaning on a wall.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/kate-and-landon.jpg)
Kate and Landon
Kate: “I am finding more and more things to appreciate about my life every day. I now get to have dinner at home every night. Every. Single. Night.
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Marissa (2)
Marissa had just completed a two-and-a-half-hour Google Hangout session with her Ceramics class. On that day, she was one of 13 students still eating at Transy’s cafeteria.
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![A woman leans from the window of a brick apartment, glsses seated atop her shoulder-length hair which a cat looks on from inside.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/tanzi-with-minnie-purrl.jpg)
Tanzi with Minnie Purrl
Tanzi continues to work at the Food Bank and feels privileged to still have a job. In fact, her job is very secure, but it’s really emotional for
![](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/016-03-25-Saphia-Isa-scaled.jpg)
Iman, Saphia, and Hannah
Saphia Isa is co-owner of BaK 4 More Studio. Narrative from original post: Saphia: “Our home has turned into a library. I’m teaching downstairs. The girls are upstairs
![](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/017-03-25-Helue-Shalash-scaled.jpg)
Bilal, Fajima, Helue, Hakeem, Sumaya, and Jenna
Helue Shalash is co-owner of BaK 4 More Studio. Narrative from original post: Jenna: “Puzzles, movies, and food, oh my!”
![](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/033-2020-03-25-Heather-scaled.jpg)
![Two women in floaral patterns, one a blouse and the other a dress, stand on the front porch of a brick home with a black wooden door. Three children are seated with snacks at a small picnic table in front of them. A small boy, an infant, and a yougn girl wearing colorful striped socks.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/felice-levi-amos-iva-and-hannah.jpg)
Felice, Levi, Amos, Iva, and Hannah
With Hannah’s help, Felice has been home-schooling her kids for almost two weeks. The tradition of afternoon tea is, in fact, part of their daily calendar: “3 PM—Tea
![A barefoot young woman with dark braided hair and steel grey highlights wearing a shortened tee shirt is seated on a brick column of a front porch with a metal storm door.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ciara.jpg)
![A man with dark hair and beard with grey highlights in denim is seated in a green metal garden chair on the porch of a dark blue brick home holding a banjo while a leashed dog stands to his side.](https://lextimecovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/brett-with-blue.jpg)
Brett with Blue
While Blue watched on, Brett played “Rocky Island” on his 5-string banjo. He told us it’s a Burgee’s Creek/Knot County/Kentucky version of this traditional tune.
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Jeremy, Athena, Karissa, and Grant
Jeremy and Karissa feel grateful to have each other. Friday was Karissa’s last day at Common Good, an after-school program and a home-away-from-home for neighborhood youth. She is