Author Archive for Editor

Opportunity to befriend newcomers to Canada and learn about other cultures

Published
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Editor
on April 22, 2008
in North America, events, needs and opportunities, news and prayer requests
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Would you like to befriend newcomers to Canada and learn about other cultures? Or would you support this ministry in prayer?

Kingcrest International Neighbours is a ministry that runs ESL classes and helps many refugee claimants and newcomers to Canada in East Vancouver.

Volunteers are needed for the 10-week Spring Term from April 15th – June 20th, 2008. Volunteers can come 1-2 times per week for 2-hour classes in the morning or evening on specific days. No previous training or experience is needed for being a host-friend - spending time with students and orienting them to life in Canada, or help with an ESL Bible Study, refreshments, administration, typing, fundraising, special events, childcare.

Please call Christina Chiu for more info (604-327-6262) or email christina_chiu@hotmail.com and put “Kingcrest” on the subject line.

Uganda Roundtable - deadline extended!!

Published
by
Editor
on March 19, 2008
in Africa, Asia, Europe, GENERAL, Latin America, Middle East, Newsletter, North America, REGION RELATED, events, needs and opportunities and news
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The Refugee Highway Partnership Roundtable in Entebbe, Uganda, will be held on June 18 - 22, 2008.

The application deadline is now extended until Monday, March 31, 2008.

See below for more details and to download application. For any questions, contact Linda Moorcroft at Linda_Moorcroft@christiestreetrc.com.

The Refugee Highway Partnership was launched at a historic Consultation in 2001 in Izmir, Turkey. Nearly 200 church leaders from around the globe gathered to build connections, collaborate, and develop strategies to respond to the incredible need of refugees in our world. Since then, annual leadership meetings and roundtables have been held to continue to build and grow the partnership. The RHP’s mission is to mobilize the worldwide church to bring hope and provide refuge for over 30 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world through collaborative strategies. For more information about the RHP visit our website at: http://refugeehighway.net

The Uganda Roundtable, hosted by the Association of Evangelicals of Africa (AEA) – a member of the World Evangelical Alliance – has been designed for participants to:

> Learn more about the RHP and ways to engage their church in refugee initiatives
> See first-hand the impact of refugee movements and internally displaced persons in the host country
>Partner with the African church through prayer, encouragement and engagement
> Participate in World Refugee Sunday celebrations in a “hotspot” in our world

Roundtable Participants:
Our target participants are strategic church leaders which includes pastors, denominational leaders, mission body representatives, and para-church organization leadership. We are intentionally capping the number of participants to allow for strong connections to take place. Our goal is to limit total attendance to approximately 60 to 80 people. The Africa region (as host) will have 10 to 15 church leaders from across Africa in attendance. Other regions and issue group areas have room to include approximately 5 to 10 leaders. Our goal is to involve decision makers who have the motivation, the influence and the ability to mobilize church involvement in refugee ministry when they return; leaders who have had some prior exposure to refugee issues and for whom this event could be the catalyst to greater involvement; and influencers who will share what they learn at this event to engage others.

Draft Schedule:
Wednesday, June 18 - Participants arrive
Thursday, June 19 - Full Day Session
Friday, June 20 - Site Visit to Kampala
Saturday, June 21 - Full Day Session
Sunday, June 22 - Refugee Sunday Celebrations

Monday, June 23, Tuesday, June 24 - Optional site visit to Northern Uganda

The schedule is being designed for optimum learning, listening, engaging, and connecting.

Location:
Imperial Botanic Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda.

The hotel is located just 10 minutes from the international airport in Entebbe and provides free airport shuttle service. The hotel is considered one of the finest meeting facilities in Uganda and boasts visits from both U.S. Presidents Clinton and Bush. More information about the hotel is available at: Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda

Optional site visit to Northern Uganda:
Participants will have the opportunity to visit a refugee camp – to view the programs and conditions and to engage with personnel and people living in the camp.

Cost:
Approximately $100 per day for full room and board, local transportation and use of meeting facilities. Travel costs to and from Uganda are in addition.

This is an invitation-only event. Applications to attend can be downloaded below:
APPLICATION (Adobe)
APPLICATION (Word)

Please return this form by: Monday, March 31, 2008. You will be notified if your registration is accepted. Please DO NOT reserve flights or make other arrangements unless your reservation is accepted.

For questions, contact Linda Moorcroft of the Refugee Highway Partnership at Linda_Moorcroft@christiestreetrc.com

Sincerely,

RHP Leadership Team

Sri Lankan refugees in India

Published
by
Editor
on March 10, 2008
in Africa, Asia, news and prayer requests
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Ruki Fernando’s personal impressions of Sri Lankan refugees in India:

“Are we the ones to bear this shame, are they the sacrifice”

I remembered John Denver’s passionate song dedicated to the refugees called “Fallen leaves”, as I sat in the Chennai airport, trying to make sense of what I had seen and heard and my own feelings, recalling my visit to Sri Lankans who had fled to India in fear of their lives and live in camps as refugees. One of the lines from the song that kept coming back to me was what I had put as the title to this reflection.

At the airport, I myself felt a bit of a refugee, having come to the airport from an overnight bus. It had not been an easy journey, traveling by a night train, and spending the day at the store house that now serves as a home to 26 families, and then taking an overnight bus back, straight to the airport. And several other train, bus and auto rides in between. But I guess the difficulties in my journey pales when compared to the journeys that the people I met had undertaken, on makeshift boats, often overcrowded. Mine had certainly been a journey by choice, taking advantage of attending a conference in Chennai, while they had not much choice in undertaking the journey, the choice of fleeing to India and remaining in Sri Lanka having being one of life or death.

Read the rest of his report here.

Links with Iraqi refugee info

Published
by
Editor
on February 28, 2008
in news
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1. New Blog Featuring Iraqi Refugee Children

2. U.S. State Department’s Population, Refugee, & Migration office - Fact Sheet on New P-2 Category for Iraqis

3. U.S. Humanitarian Assistance for Displaced Iraqis

EU encouraged to do more for Iraq & Iraqi refugees

Published
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Editor
on February 28, 2008
in news
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The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee calls for “more and better” aid to Iraq from the European Union

“The Council should become more actively engaged in assistance to Iraq and also improve the transparency of its aid to the country, says a Foreign Affairs Committee report on the EU’s role in Iraq. It calls on the Council to ’step up the quantity, but especially the quality, of EU support for UN efforts to build a safe, stable, unified, prosperous and democratic Iraq.’”

Read full report.

Refugee-worker Training

Published
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Editor
on February 27, 2008
in news
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Refugee-worker training offered in Vancouver, B.C., on July 4-6 & 12, 2008.

Judi Bastin, the Refugee Resettlement Agency Regional Volunteer trainer in New Zealand, is the main speaker. This training conference is designed to train volunteers in helping refugee claimant families with housing, resettlement assistance and relational support. Registration brochures will be available in March with full details. Download conference flyer.

The conference is hosted by Journey Home Community Association, a newly established Christian refugee ministry, in a partnership with World Vision Canada in their Partnership to End Child Poverty in Canada. Download their ministry flyer.

For more information, email james@graunau.ca or call 604-451-7948.

Emergency Appeal for Aid in Iraq

Published
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Editor
on February 27, 2008
in news
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From the United Nations Mission Assistance for Iraq, 02/12/08:

The international aid community today appealed for a comprehensive international response to help vulnerable people in Iraq over the next 12 months. UN agencies and NGOs said $265 million is needed to deliver urgent relief to Iraqis suffering under the humanitarian crisis inside the country.

“The aid community is committed to helping as humanitarian needs in Iraq have risen sharply over the last two years. We have to respond rapidly those people who need support”, said Mr. David Shearer, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

Read full report.

Iraqi Refugee & IDP Assessment

Published
by
Editor
on February 27, 2008
in Middle East and research
. 0 Comments

The American Friends Service Committee has made available their January 2008 summary report on the status of Iraqi refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons). Download here.

Traumatic Stress Training for refugee workers

Published
by
Editor
on February 27, 2008
in Book Recommendations, GENERAL, RESOURCES, Refugee Training and ministry tools
. 0 Comments

It is not news that refugee workers in the field and in agency offices undergo a high degree of stress in their work. But, it is good to know that there is an agency that makes courses available on-line (and free of charge) that refugee workers and field staff can access from anywhere in the world. There are also stress self-examinations, monthly tips and notices of regional training.

The Headington Institute’s mission is to make resources on humanitarian work and traumatic stress available to a wide audience. This free multimedia online curriculum on humanitarian work and stress is being designed for those who are interested in these topics but who may not have immediate access to training and other resources.

This program provides two related types of online training:

Online modules: E-booklets containing study text and personal reflection questions.
E-learning courses: Interactive online courses based on our online modules. These courses can also be downloaded to CD and completed offline.

Three of the courses currently offered online at Headington Institute are:

Understanding and coping with traumatic stress
Humanitarian work is physically and emotionally demanding, and many humanitarian workers struggle to find a healthy balance between the demands of the work and the need to pay some attention to their own well-being. The goal of this module is to provide an overview of traumatic stress as it is related to humanitarian work, and helpful coping strategies for dealing with it.

Trauma and critical incident care
International humanitarian work in the current global context is an inherently dangerous undertaking. Whether it is the result of natural disaster, civil conflict, or domestic crime, few humanitarian workers escape without becoming a target of violence or witnessing violence and its aftereffects. The goal of this module is to explain trauma reactions and explore how to best care for yourself and others after a traumatic event.

On the road again: Coping with travel and re-entry stress
Travel is a normal part of life for many humanitarian workers, but they are not protected from finding it stressful just because they are working for a good cause. This module explores the dynamics of the transitions that humanitarian work demands and coping strategies for dealing with travel stress.

As an additional resource for training, trauma counseling or consulting for your refugee agency or ministry contact Glenn Goss, MSW, at northlinkg@gmail.com.

NZ refugees and mental health screenings

Published
by
Editor
on February 27, 2008
in Africa, Asia, Refugee Training and news
. 0 Comments

Refugees will soon be screened for mental health problems before they get to New Zealand in an effort to reduce the chance of “surprises” such as last week’s attempted aircraft hijacking by a Somali woman.

A review of New Zealand’s refugee resettlement system by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers is believed to recommend mental health assessments at “point of source”, and intensive case management for traumatised refugees for at least two years.

The Labour Department refused to comment on the report yesterday because it “has yet to be finalised”.
Read full report.
By Simon Collins with the New Zealand Herald, 02/12/08.

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