Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, noted that at the end of 2014, more than 50 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide. Almost 80 percent of those displaced are women and children.

Established in 2001, World Refugee Day is coordinated by UNHRC and focuses on honoring the courage, strength and determination of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Each year, the day focuses on a particular theme that highlights specific circumstances faced by refugees. This year’s theme, “Get to know a refugee – Ordinary people living through extraordinary times,” aims to bring the public closer to the human side of the refugee story.

“All around the world we are seeing families fleeing violence,” said High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “The numbers are massive – but we must not forget that these are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. People who led ordinary lives before war forced them to flee. On this World Refugee Day, everyone should remember the things that connect all of us – our common humanity.”

To mark World Refugee Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education and support for refugees and internally displaced people in need that were developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. Development Arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ New Beginnings initiative, which started in 2011, has provided more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees began the program with no marketable skills. Without the prospect of a job, it was hard for them to create stability for their families and build new lives. The New Beginnings program grants each refugee 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. The training programs, coupled with the job placement services, allowed these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves, their families and their new communities.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

For the fifth year, Salesian Missions has received funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to conduct its New Beginnings program for Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program. Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. According to UNHCR, there are close to 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with almost 70,000 in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

Refugees face many challenges as they begin to make a new life in their host countries. Sri Lankan Tamils are unique in that their host population in Tamil Nadu is also ethnically Tamil. While Sri Lankan refugees share a common language and customs with their host community, they still struggle to gain marketable skills and find livable wage employment.

Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing its New Beginnings program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. In 2015, Salesian missionaries are serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India. In addition, 550 women are benefiting from refugee camp-based small business incubator programs. The New Beginnings program provides market-conscious vocational and technical skills training that results in livable wage employment, allowing trainees to better support themselves and their families. Many refugees enter the program with few, if any, job prospects or with a history of low paid part-time work experience which is typically unskilled and often dangerous and exploitative.

REFUGEES IN KENYA

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build a new school on a donated plot of land at the refugee camp in order to meet the growing demand.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. As part of the program, children are offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, Southeastern Turkey has more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

At the Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work. At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn English language skills and traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

Technical skills training is a critical component of Salesian work in Istanbul. Many refugees leave the country’s border towns and refugee camps and make their way to Istanbul hoping to find employment and a more stable life. If they fail to find work, refugees are often left in dire circumstances. The Don Bosco Center’s technical skills training program is a critical safety net for those in need.

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Sources:

World Refugee Day 2015

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Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. According to UNHCR, for the third year in a row, Kakuma continues to receive record numbers of refugees from South Sudan. By late December 2014, there were more than 42,000 new arrivals in Kakuma. Without a lasting ceasefire and peace and reconciliation in South Sudan, UNHCR predicts the steady influx into Kenya is likely to continue throughout 2015.

The World Food Programme distributes 9,300 metric tons of food for 500,000 refugees in northern Kenya each month at a cost of $9.6 million. Unless more than $12 million is raised, there will be a critical food gap during August and September of this year.

“We are very worried about how this cut may affect the people who rely on our assistance,” says Thomas Hansson, World Food Progammes’s acting country director for Kenya, in a statement in the Thomas Reuters Foundation article. “But our food stocks are running out, and reducing the size of rations is the only way to stretch our supplies to last longer. We hope that this is only a temporary measure and we continue to appeal to the international community to assist.”

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are being trained in critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available at the training center and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

In addition to the critical food shortfalls, Kakuma is running out of space. By the end of August 2014, the camp was unable to accommodate new arrivals and UNHCR sought to secure new land for its expanded operations. With the influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training. While land has been provided to build a new facility, funding still needs to be raised to complete the project.

“Since the influx of refugees and the critical food shortages, Salesian missionaries have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has launched a donation appeal to aid Salesian missionaries at Kakuma in building a new training facility as well as funding ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As Salesian missionaries in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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SOURCES:

Photo: Matija Kovac/Wikimedia Commons

Thomas Reuters Foundation – Funding shortfall forces U.N. to cut refugee food rations in Kenyan camps

UNHCR – Kakuma Refugee Camp 2015

The post KENYA: World Food Program Cuts will Affect Nearly 1,000 Participating in Salesian Programs at Kakuma Refugee Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

By the end of July the population of the camp established in northern Kenya in 1992 had reached 100,009 following a steady influx of new arrivals over the past two years.

“The threat of conflict in neighboring countries, particularly Sudan and South Sudan, is expected to continue to drive asylum seekers toward Kenya for the remainder of the year and into 2013,” said Guy Avognon, UNHCR’s Head of Sub-Office in Kakuma.

Through the first seven months of this year 12,123 individuals were registered in the camp, the majority having fled violence and conflict in South Sudan’s Jonglei State and Sudan’s South Kordofan. Significant numbers from Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also sought asylum in Kakuma this year.

Avognon expressed concern about possible tension between camp residents and members of the local community due to the limited water and other resources in the area. The provision of life-saving assistance and important services is becoming increasingly difficult due to limited funding to cater for the growing population, particularly in the shelter, sanitation, education, and healthcare sectors.

“The sustained rate of new arrivals to the camp has already depleted all available land in the new settlement areas, and despite serious overcrowding in many parts of the camp, UNHCR and its partners are working to identify available space to settle new arrivals within existing settlements,” the head of the UNHCR sub-office said.

The increasing population is creating serious concerns for the operation as the boundaries of the camp cannot be extended further unless new sources of water are identified. Since the beginning of the year efforts to supply sufficient quantities of clean, safe drinking water have become a critical challenge, with refugees now receiving less than the standard 20 liters of water per person per day.

UNHCR’s discussions with the Kenyan government to establish a second camp have been ongoing for the past year, but as yet no agreement has been reached, though a potential site has been identified some 35 kilometers from Kakuma. UNHCR is optimistic the discussions will be successful and additional land will be made available before the end of the year.

However, an estimated US$16.7 million would be required to set up a second camp and UNHCR’s current financial constraints mean this would likely also pose significant challenges.

(By Emmanuel Nyabera, reporting from inside the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Photo: UNHCR/R.Gangale)

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Related MissionNewswire article: Refugee Youth at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya Find “New Beginnings” with Job Training

See this article at its original location at UNHCR >

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