Latest Refugee Resettlement News

SBY Wants Action on Timorese Refugees
Yudhoyono said on Friday that he recently visited Oebelo, a village in Kupang, the provincial capital, where many refugees resettled and which is now wracked by poverty and unemployment. “By 2014, I want all existing problems to be solved.
Read more on Jakarta Globe

 

Refugee Farmers Find Solace in a Floodplain
… community,” said Jacouba Jacob Bogre, the executive director of the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, a nonprofit organization that sponsors the New Farms for New Americans project, financed by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Read more on New York Times

 

South Sudan: UNHCR expands aid operations in Yida as population passes 35,000

South Sudan: UNHCR expands aid operations in Yida as population passes 35,000

UNHCR is expanding aid operations for refugees in South Sudan’s Yida camp, whose population has swollen to more than 35,000 people amid a new wave of arrivals since last week.
People arriving at Yida cite…
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

UNHCR moves Congolese to transit camp following Uganda influx

A further 13,000-15,000 people crossed into Uganda in the latest influx. As of Sunday, more than 6,000 Congolese were at Nyakabande transit centre.
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

Angolan refugees return home from Namibia ahead of June deadline

On Tuesday, UNHCR organized the voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees from Namibia as part of our overall effort to help return for as many Angolan refugees as possible, ahead of the cessation of…
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

Horn of Africa crisis – humanitarian update

Amid continuing high numbers of arrivals of people fleeing drought, famine and conflict in Somalia, the UN refugee agency will this weekend start to move Somali refugee families…
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

UNHCR helps relocate Somali refugees to new camp in eastern Ethiopia

UNHCR and its partners begin the relocation of nearly 15,000 Somali refugees who have been living in a transit centre in the eastern region of Dollo Ado.
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

UNHCR repatriates Ivorian refugees from unstable Mali

UNHCR repatriates Ivorian refugees from unstable Mali

UNHCR helped 104 Ivorian refugees fly back home earlier this week from Bamako, the Malian capital where they felt insecure due to continuing instability. UNHCR organized their repatriation by air as general…
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency


Young Muslim woman’s fierce passion for learning sparks big changes

In a remote part of Myanmar, a young woman who only wanted to get an education is now showing the way for many others – with UNHCR’s help.
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency


First groups of stranded South Sudanese return to Juba

A humanitarian airlift from Sudan to South Sudan brings more than 300 southerners home after more than a year in limbo. Thousands more will follow.
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

Latest Refugee Resettlement News

Somali, Eritrean refugees resettle in US
VALLETTA, Malta – The new US ambassador to Malta has said farewell to 27 Somali and Eritrean refugees headed to the United States under a refugee resettlement program. Since 2007, 985 refugees have been resettled in the United States from the island …
Read more on Fox News

World Refugee Day bio: That Wah
on Thursday May 17th, 2012 03:20pm in NONPROFITS In honor of the upcoming World Refugee Day event on June 23rd, Bethany Christian Services refugee resettlement program (PARA) is posting weekly biographies of families and individuals that are being …
Read more on The Rapidian

 

Burmese Refugee Reads Dr. Seuss

I was pleased to see this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper over the weekend: http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/getting-acquainted-with-dr-seuss-ep4dlde-141260183.html

It’s about a Burmese refugee named Paw Dow, a Waukesha Literacy Council student, and his tutor, Ed Boss, reading to 2- to 5- year-old children at a day care in Waukesha.  The part that makes this really neat to me is that Paw Dow is a member of one of the families that we helped resettle.

I remember when he and his family arrived a few years ago.  Paw Dow often smiled, but he didn’t speak much.  He didn’t know enough English to hold a conversation.  And, now, here he is reading to children! 

It’s moments like this, when you see the progress made–the adaptation, the learning, the adjusting, the fitting in–from refugee to self-sufficiency that helps you realize how worthwhile refugee resettlement is.  Well, at least that’s true for me.  I see how worthwhile it is and I hope you do too.

Thailand could have one more family still living in a refugee camp, dependent upon others for survival.  Or the United States can have a family who works, and contributes, and gives back to the community.  The latter is the step in the right direction.  Just one single resettlement and the world becomes a better place.

Getting Started with Refugee Resettlement

I was just asked an interesting question…  “I have 5 minutes to talk about refugee resettlement at a Bible study.  What should I be sure to say?”

Hmm.  There’s so much that can be said about refugee resettlement.  How do you make an impression in just 5 minutes?

Certainly it’s good to know the audience.  In this case the group is studying the Bible, so they’re a Christian group.  That’s good, because the way I see it, refugee resettlement is a way to fulfill our God-given mission to help the less fortunate.

Sometimes we may question whether or not someone is less fortunate.  Are they really a victim?  Is the poorly dressed guy begging on the corner homeless because of choice or bad decisions?  Or is he doing just fine because he’s turned begging into a career?  If not in real life, we’ve probably all at least seen these scenarios on TV.  And that can make you wonder who really needs your help.

But refugees are clearly victims of circumstances beyond their control.  They are forced to leave their homes fearing for their lives.  They flee to a country that probably doesn’t want them.  And they’re stuck for an undetermined amount of time, unproductive, waiting, wondering, wishing for a change that may or may not come.

So, yes, these are the less fortunate, especially by our own standards.

The Reasons to do Nothing

In college I took a philosophy class.  I don’t remember much from it, but there was one side comment that stands out for me.  “Knowledge IS responsibility.”  Once you are aware of something, once you know it, the next step is your responsibility.  What are you going to do with that information?  What action will you take?

The main reason people do nothing to help refugees is that they have no idea that the possibility exists.  Until someone first told me that we could help a refugee family by supporting them in our own city, I had no idea.  But when I knew, there was the knowledge.  What was the responsibility?  For me it was to help.

But that brought me to the next problem, the second big reason to do nothing.  I really had no idea what to do or where to begin.  You need to know the first step to take.  In our case we guessed, and everywhere we got stuck, we guessed again.  We took our best shot at coming up with the best answer we could think of.  And we went with it.

But Now You Know, So You Are Responsible

You don’t have to start out by guessing.  I wrote 10 Million To 1 so that you would have the steps, the checklists, everything you need to do to get started.  The book solves the problem of where to begin.  It covers everything an interested person must know to get started and be successful in the resettlement process.

Consolidating Refugee Resettlement Websites

Welcome!  Perhaps this is your first time here at ResettlementSupport.com.  If you’ve been one of the regulars, then you realize that my attention to this site has dropped since publishing my refugee resettlement how-to book called 10 Million To 1.  Book promotion can certainly chew up a lot of time.

Part of the problem has been the addition of another blog.  As an author I was set up with a blog at jeffreykirk.authorsxpress.com.  Nothing wrong with that concept.  The reality is that my efforts went into that site instead of this one.  Yet it’s this one that I really want to continue to add value to the refugee resettlement conversation.

Therefore I am reorganizing this site.  (You probably already see some changes compared to your last visit.  And more are coming.)  The “author” site will continue to exist, but going forward the updates will be here.  This will allow me to better integrate the resettlement info and training.  After-all, this site is for resettlement support, so it all belongs here.

Once I get this site organized properly then I will again try to add more content to keep it interesting and educational.

Online Book Launch

This Tuesday, November 29, is the official “online book launch” of 10 Million To 1.  By ordering a copy of the book from Amazon on this date you will be joining many others.  Together we can make an impact by creating a spike in sales.

I am in the midst of a nationwide publicity campaign.  A surge in book sales can be used to help get more positive media attention on refugees and refugee resettlement.  Greater awareness means more potential volunteers to help refugees.  More volunteers means more refugees can transition to self-sufficiency faster.

And, by “self-sufficiency” I mean that they are contributing members of society.  They get jobs, become productive, buy products and services from local businesses, pay taxes.  They fit in.  And then, one day, they become citizens of this great land.

While there are 11 agencies in the U.S. that are officially designated to help refugees, I believe the volunteers can make a HUGE difference.  We’re the people on ground, helping with the day-to-day transition from refugee camp to normal life.

You make a difference!

When you buy a book on November 29 from Amazon you will receive additional bonuses; useful in resettlement, business, and life.  Visit www.10millionto1.com for details.  The “Get Bonuses” button will only be visible for a limited time so take a look now.

“10 Million To 1” – Toginet Interview

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed on Toginet, Internet Talk Radio, regarding the release of the new refugee resettlement how-to book, 10 Million To 1.  Just click the play button below to listen in…

      Interview of Jeffrey Kirk regarding new book

Just a reminder.  If you’d like to pick up a copy of the book, you can visit www.10millionto1.com or just click the book cover the right.

Somali refugees learn to live together in new tented town rising in Kenya

Somali refugees learn to live together in new tented town rising in Kenya
A delicate lattice of community begins to take hold among the thousands of refugees who inhabit the white tents of the Ifo Extension in northern Kenya.
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

Humanitarian situation improving in Ethiopia, continued challenges in Somalia
Together with our partners, UNHCR has been making progress in delivering health and nutrition services to Somali refugees in the Dollo Ado camps in Ethiopia. The measles vaccination campaign, completed…
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency

East and Horn of Africa Update: Somali Displacement Crisis at a Glance, 21 September 2011
UNHCR | The UN Refugee Agency