Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

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Who's Who

	Bill Clinton Hadam Born in a refugee camp in Tanzania in 1999, he came to Georgia in 2006 and is now a third-grader at the International Community School. Quiet and thoughtful, he’s a serious soccer and video game player. He was named by his Congolese dad, who admired - and empathized with - the American president.
	Igey (EE-gay) Muzeleya Bill’s younger brother was born in the same camp in 2001. Lively and curious, he’s the baby of the family and prone to theatrical tantrums. This year, he is repeating first grade at the International Community School, and grappling with his new American identity.
	Hassan Mwanasumpikwa Bill and Igey’s dad worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo in construction and selling traditional statues. He became a refugee after his outspoken father was forced to hide in the forest from political rivals. He now works the night shift at a Georgia poultry plant, deboning chicken for $10 an hour.
	Dawami (dah-WAH-mee) Lenguyanga Bill and Igey’s mom was born in Rwanda and grew up in refugee camps in Tanzania. Her first husband, also Rwandan, was murdered in reprisal killings after the genocide there, leaving her with a daughter, Neema. Ms. Lenguyanga met her second husband, Hassan Mwanasumpikwa, in a Tanzanian refugee center. Now, she’s working as a housekeeper at Georgia State University and studying to be baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness.
	Neema (NAY-muh) John Neema, Dawami’s daughter by her first marriage, ran away from the family’s Tanzanian refugee camp after a traumatic experience there. When her family received visas to the US in 2006, they didn’t know where she was. Now 20, with a 4-year-old son, Neema lives in a rented room in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, waiting to be reunited with “Mama.”
	Bill Moon ICS’s founding principal retired last spring as school head and is now fund-raising for the school. Before helping to launch ICS in 2002, he taught throughout the US and abroad, and most recently served as elementary principal of the prestigious Atlanta International School.
	Barbara Thompson Ms. Thompson is a freelance writer and refugee advocate who, 11 years ago, had a chance conversation with Bill Moon that led to the creation of ICS. Next fall, she will help to launch a new school for teen refugee girls. Her latest post on our blog looks back to ICS’s first year, and the difference the school made in two young lives.
	Sister Patty Caraher Another ICS founder, now heavily involved in the school’s family outreach programs, Sister Patty is a Sinsinawa Dominican nun and longtime social activist. Colleagues teasingly call her “the Hoover,” for the boldness with which she recruits ICS volunteers.
	Laurent Ditmann ICS’s new principal is a French former military historian, whose interest in the effects of war on civilians, coupled with his own parents’ refugee story, moved him to work at ICS. This year, he hopes to solidify the young school’s finances and find it a permanent home. His latest contribution to our blog discusses how readers can help ICS – and how the school hopes to return the favor.
	Htwe Htwe (TWEE TWEE) In 2003, Htwe Htwe and her three young children fled Burma’s military dictatorship and joined her husband, Myo Naing, who’d been granted asylum in the US. The family’s first apartment was next door to ICS, where Ms. Htwe began to volunteer, then to work – this year, as a sixth-grade teaching assistant.
	Claire Hamilton A fifth-grade language arts teacher, Claire has been with ICS since the school opened in 2002. This fall, she was married in the Methodist church where ICS leases space. Mr. Moon and Dr. Ditmann have been two of the most important influences in her life, she says.
	Marney Mayo An ICS mom and tireless advocate for charter schools, Marney, in her signature tie-dye, is a ubiquitous presence at school board meetings and the Georgia legislature. This fall, she has been instrumental in securing county support for ICS’s charter renewal. Her latest blog for this site discusses the importance of presuming goodwill in a community like ICS.
	Ann Griffith Born in Wales, ICS third-grade teacher Ann Griffith grew up in schools that didn’t encourage student inquiry. Now a nearly 20-year veteran teacher in schools in Sri Lanka, India, and the UK, she says her main goal is to get her kids asking: “Why?”
	Thayoomoo Ywin Thayoomoo, 8, was born in a refugee camp on the Burmese/Thai border. After four years in Georgia and 2 1/2 at ICS, she’s a top reader, near fluent in English, and the “mother hen” in her second grade class. She is also her family’s translator and primary link to English-speaking America.
	Minnick Lenge Dawami’s best friend in Atlanta is a former Congolese refugee and new US citizen, who’s been in the country for 10 years. Ms. Lenge, a geriatric nurse, met Dawami through church, and is helping her friend become a Jehovah’s Witness and adjust to her new home.
	Janine Ndayaremwa A first-grade teaching assistant in Igey’s class, Ms. Ndayaremwa came to Atlanta as a refugee from civil war in Burundi. She, her husband Come Nahabakomeye, and their three children are heavily involved with ICS, and leaders of Atlanta’s Burundian community.
	Nyo Nyo Thayoomoo’s mom was born in Burma, has been in the US since 2004, and speaks little English. She and her husband Thet Naing Aye say they want the best of American education for Thayoomoo and her two younger brothers.