| Hi jay, Here's our latest news, including information about a developing refugee crisis. Sincerely, -Daniel Daniel Wordsworth, President *********************************************** *World Refugee Day and Crisis in DRC* A couple weeks ago, I told you about a developing refugee situation in Rwanda. Today, on World Refugee Day, I’m sad to report the situation has grown even worse. Recent violence has forced more than 10,000 people from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to cross the border into Rwanda, where they are in desperate need of help. The stories of rape and violence are absolutely horrific. The media has yet to report the story in a significant way. We’ve had a long history of helping Congolese refugees in Rwanda, where we manage the three major camps for refugees. We also assist Congolese refugees in Uganda and South Sudan and are expanding a program in DRC. We have staff working around the clock on our response. We’ll be sending more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, here are a few articles you can read: http://allafrica.com/stories/201206160124.html *SMS in South Sudan* We recently partnered with Souktel, a company that develops mobile phone services to give low-income communities the information they need to improve their lives. A recent article in the Souktel corporate newsletter featured the partnership: “For years, aid agencies have been using basic mass media – like community radio – to send key messages to communities in need. But when ARC launched a campaign in South Sudan to raise awareness about gender-based violence, radio wasn’t enough: Over 60 languages are spoken across the country, making simultaneous broadcasts difficult. More importantly, measuring the impact of radio segments is tough….That’s where Souktel stepped in, partnering with ARC to create a custom mobile messaging platform that let staff send public awareness messages at scale, in multiple languages, with detailed data tracking. Working with the ARC field team in Juba, Souktel software developers built a cloud-based system which allowed staff in South Sudan – or in U.S. offices – to run SMS information campaigns: If operations on the ground became too risky, the campaign could be easily managed from outside the country, ensuring security and sustainability... A multi-language feature was added to allow for message send-out in English and Arabic script at the same time…Leveraging this mobile technology, ARC’s campaign was able to reach thousands of households across South Sudan.” *Essays for Somalia* Our I AM A STAR program has been partnering with a class at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis for the past several months. Our staff presented to the class about Somalia, and the students were moved to do more. They made and sold I AM A STAR T-shirts, and then researched and wrote essays on what people suffering through the famine need most. Five essay contest winners recently visited our headquarters to share their essays. Here are some essay excerpts:
You can read the essays in their entirety on the teacher’s blog, located here: http://essaysfrom141.wordpress.com. For more information about I AM A STAR, visit www.IAMASTAR.org. *Giving* At the request of readers, I always include these links so they’re easy to find when you need them. Thanks so much. Donate Online: http://www.ARCrelief.org/donate Become a Monthly Donor: http://www.ARCrelief.org/givemonthly Give Us a Call: (800) 875-7060 Send in a gift: American Refugee Committee
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