| Hi jay, Here’s an update on some of the news around ARC. As always, let us know if you have any questions. Thanks! -Daniel Daniel Wordsworth, President *********************************************** *Going to Burma* “There’s a palpable spirit of optimism and hope for the future that we don’t always see in the places ARC works.” In February, ARC sent a small team into Burma to determine if populations need our support and how we could become operational. ARC has worked with Karen refugees (from Burma) in Thailand for more than 20 years in camps in the north of the country and in the south with economic migrants – but never inside Burma. With the recent ‘opening-up’ and reforms in Burma, this is now possible. The team met with ordinary Burmese families, with partner organizations and government officials. They determined that ARC could do significant good in Burma, could prepare for refugee repatriation from Thailand and ought to make every effort to start a program. Please stay tuned for additional information on our entry in Burma. Members of the team included Michelle Heerey, Gary Dahl (ARC Thailand Country Director) and Chris Smoot (ARC Director of International Programs).
Opportunities for training and eventual employment are severely lacking in Somalia. We’re thrilled to announce that, alongside partners Silatech and Kaah Express, ARC will soon launch a microenterprise development program in Somalia that will find 10,000 young Somalis gainfully employed and operating small businesses by mid-2014. Youth will start small businesses like cell phone repair, garment making or small-scale fishery. They’ll learn skills for these businesses through videos posted to Youtube and aired on SomaliTV, including bookkeeping and marketing. A microloan of $200 will help them get their businesses off the ground. And when they repay their loans, they’ll qualify for additional and bigger loans to grow their businesses. With very few opportunities for Somali young people, we’re extremely excited by the potential good that will result from this new program.
At the invitation of government officials, diplomats and engaged citizens throughout Scandinavia, a small group from ARC traveled to the region to share the successes and lessons learned from our I AM A STAR for Somalia program. I AM A STAR is a partnership of the American Refugee Committee and the global Somali Diaspora to co-create a humanitarian response in Somalia. By strengthening connections within the Somali community and between the Somali community and their non-Somali neighbors, we successfully launched a full-scale relief effort in Somalia while also shifting the narrative of Somalia toward hope and possibility. The people our team has spoken with are particularly interested to discuss how the program might be altered and applied specifically in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. All three countries have large immigrant populations from Somalia and are planning for more arrivals soon. The team is currently in Denmark on the last leg of the trip.
At the request of readers, I always include these links so they’re easy to find when you need them. Thanks so much.
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