Inside ARC - 1.27.12

Hi jay, Here’s the latest news from our programs around the world. -Daniel Daniel Wordsworth, President ***********************************************   *American Refugee Committee Listed as Top Charity*    The American Refugee Committee was listed as a Top Charity by the Chicago Tribune, the sixth largest newspaper in the United States. See the listing here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-charity-list-20111221,0,4624350.story.   *Former Refugee Staff Member Honored*    Paw Pree, a former Karen refugee staff member in Thailand, was recently named a “Community Hero” in her new home of Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper awarded her this honor. Each year, the newspaper highlights Cleveland residents who “saw a need and stepped up to answer it.” Pree, 25, was described as “a lifeline for other Southeast Asian refugees being resettled in the Cleveland area.”  Pree added, “I love working with people...I’m the one who can talk to them. I am their voice.” She provides critical translation services and helps newcomers integrate into American life, and she also is a student at a local community college. Regarding her own acclimation to American life, Pree says “You have to have hope. And be willing to work hard.” * Thailand and Rwanda: 16 Days of Activism Events* We recently conducted 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaigns in five refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border and in two refugee camps in Rwanda. The Thailand team hosted events and educational campaigns about topics including domestic violence, rape treatment, reproductive health and other important topics. Thousands of camp residents participated in the activities. Thailand Country Director Gary Dahl reports that “camp residents produced and filmed their own video in Nu Po camp addressing gender-based violence in the family. I attended one of these sessions at a school in the remote Mae Ra Ma Luang camp. Children, teachers and parents were glued to the screen from start to finish. There is no electricity in these camps, and the session demonstrated the power of interesting, informative and entertaining educational video filmed in the camp communities – created by camp residents themselves.” In Rwanda, dozens of fun-filled activities were carried out over the course of the 16 days, including music, dance and drama festivals and a drawing competition for children. The festivities culminated in a highly anticipated and well attended Miss Gihembe contest, which assessed advocates on their overall confidence, ability to address the public and commitment to reach out to young girls and other people in the camp concerning violence. *Training for Journalists in Uganda* The American Refugee Committee and Northern Uganda Media Club have continued to build the capacity of journalists as a way of developing media to promote strong coverage of gender-based violence. Together, we organized the second training for media practitioners from radio, TV and newpaper media houses on “building gender and media campaigns, advocacy strategies and tools.” The mission of the training was to shift the media coverage of gender violence/HIV from that of a sensational news event to an issue of human rights and justice through improved quality and quantity of coverage of gender violence in the media. *Cash-For-Work Program Begins in Somalia* The cash-for-work program in Somalia was officially launched on Jan. 10. The program was recently expanded to cover three more districts, increasing the number of program participants from 320 to 1,280! Our team in Somalia also reports the following updates: Three mobile health clinic teams made scheduled visits to six districts. Each team has an ambulance that is used to ferry serious cases to Banadir Hospital for special health care. Last week, the teams saw a total of 558 patients. The distribution of non-food items (NFIs) continues. Last week, 160 sets were distributed in Badbaado camp to support beneficiaries of the community kitchens program. A set of NFIs for a family includes kitchen items, a sleeping mat, two clean water containers, a tarp and laundry and bath soap. We continue to operate a child-friendly facility at Banadir Hospital, and an average of 45 children are there daily. The facility offers the siblings of critically sick children a safe place to play and learn. The rehabilitation of wells is ongoing in five locations, and four additional wells have been identified for work.   *To Donate*    If you'd like to support the projects mentioned above and the rest of the work of the American Refugee Committee, visit www.ARCrelief.org/donate or call us at (800) 875-7060.

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