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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