Lutheran Refugee Services in Central PA

Learning From Each Other in the Workplace

Photo (L - R): Selma Onal, Kasim Karaev, Iryna Degtiarova, and Keith Rufalo

Harrisburg Area Community College (York Campus), a major employer in York county, has begun a new program to help their foreign-language employees succeed in the workplace.  This idea was launched by Mr. Keith Rufalo, HACC Facilities Director, to help encourage better communication with his non-English speaking employees.

One of these dedicated employees is Kasim Karaev, a Meskhetian Turk refugee that was resettled by Lutheran Refugee Services in late 2006.  He was recently hired as a custodian at HACC.  To help address the language barrier, Kasim has been actively participating in English classes offered through his employer. In addition to Kasim's efforts, Mr. Rufalo (his supervisor) has in turn enrolled in Russian classes!

Set up a few times a week, this service aids those who have difficulty speaking English. Why set this up, you may ask? As a result of the increasing influx of foreign workers in today's workplace, services like this are not only appreciated by the employees, but can also nurture camaraderie and communication among co-workers from different cultures. Congratulations to Mr. Rufalo and HACC for beginning this great initiative!  We hope that other employers in the area will also consider the benefits of similar programs.

-Article submitted by Selma Onal, LCFS Staff

June 21: World Refugee Day Event in Lancaster

 

Everyone is welcome at Lancaster's first-ever World Refugee Day celebration, to be held on June 21st at the Eastern Market, 308 E. King Street.  Beginning at 9am, the event will feature multi-cultural cuisine, international arts and crafts and a variety of other locally-grown fresh flowers and produce for sale from Eastern Market vendors.  Children's activities will be available and live international music will be performed throughout the day.  

Representatives of local refugee resettlement organizations, the Lancaster mayor's office, the PA State Refugee Program, and local refugees themselves have been invited to participate in a short program from 11am to 1pm.  There is no admission fee, and the public is encouraged to come out and celebrate the many contributions of refugees in our local community and around the world.

The United Nations General Assembly first recognized World Refugee Day on June 20, 2000, in an effort to celebrate the many contributions of refugees, and raise public awareness of the millions around the world who have been forced to flee their homes.  Since then, World Refugee Day has become an annual event, celebrated in hundreds of cities throughout the world.  According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently 17 million refugees and other "people of concern" scattered across the globe.

The event is being jointly sponsored by the East King Improvement District, Church World Service / Lancaster, and Lutheran Refugee Services in Central PA.  For more information, please contact Mindy Nolt at 717-381-2891 or Eric Kennel at 717-397-4757.

Lancaster Opens New Immigration Program!

LCFS is pleased to announce the recent decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), to grant official recognition to the Lancaster Refugee Office.  This decision, which was approved on April 23, allows LCFS to provide clients with a variety of immigration legal services.

Lutheran Social Services of South Central Pennsylvania, who partnered with LCFS to start this service, provided funding to lay the groundwork for this service, paying for staff time and immigration law trainings, an immigration law library, and immigration software needed for recognition.

LCFS will assist refugee and asylee clients with green card applications, replacement documents, family petitions and citizenship applications.  Victoria Harris, Immigration Program Coordinator, who was previously accredited by the BIA to serve clients in LCFS's Philadelphia office, has now been approved to serve clients in Lancaster.  Eric Kennel, Site Director, is also working towards BIA accreditation at this site.

"In today's immigration climate, the services the BIA will allow us to provide are absolutely crucial for our refugee and asylee clients," says Janet Panning, LCFS Refugee Program Director.  "Fleeing persecution and danger in one's home country is so unfathomable to most of us, and yet it's just the tip of the iceberg for so many refugees.  We look forward to easing the transition of making their home in the United States in whatever ways we can."

For more information about this recognition and the immigration services provided at Lutheran Refugee Services, please contact Eric Kennel at 717-397-4757, or via email at erick@lcfsinpa.org.

Construction Class Graduation!

On February 29, the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology held an event of great importance in its facilities located on E. King Street in Lancaster. The Mellor Auditorium on second floor was packed with the audience that came to support, encourage and celebrate their friends and families who graduated from construction class.

Construction Class is one of the various programs initiated by Neighborhood Services/United Way in collaboration with CareerLink  Lancaster and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. This two month session  is open to anyone able to write and read English and having a basic knowledge in math.

This event had a specific character for Lutheran Refugee Services, who placed two of its participants in the program: Kidanu Adulla and Solomon Chibssa, both from Ethiopia. They achieved this dream despite completing their duties as night shift workers and day-time students, in addition to the many responsibilities of being husbands and fathers. Given the fact that English is their second language, they were honored with a Certificate of Appreciation as well as a Graduation Certificate.

Ethiopia is an East-Central African Country that has been plagued with conflict since its emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974. In 1977 Ethiopia was at war against Eritrean secessionists, followed by another war in 1991 when President Mengistu was forced from power.  In 1998 and 2005, Ethiopia was in war again against Eritrea after demarcation borders clashes. With 435,186 sq miles, Ethopia's 76 million habitants speak a mixture of seven official languages [Amharic, Tigrigna, Orominga, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic and English].  Ethiopia shares its borders with countries that have their own nightmares and a long history of repetitive wars: Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

Kidanu and Solomon got out of all that, put it behind them and made it in their new land of opportunities; the United States of America. Way to go guys! 

-Article submitted by Andy Kalala, LCFS Staff.

Refugee Foster Parents Needed

Worldwide, children usually constitute more than half of the total refugee population. Many of the Burmese in refugee camps scattered across Malaysia and Thailand are children who have been separated from their families. These children have often fled from portering, or carrying supplies and rations for the Burmese military.  These children, referred to as Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs), can be interviewed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees while in the refugee camps. If determined to be eligible for refugee status they can then be resettled to the United States (as well as other countries that resettle refugees).

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is currently sending us referrals for these Burmese children to be placed into foster care. Once given this URM status the children are eligible to receive access to health care, education, financial support, counseling, and all of the other benefits available to a child in foster care. We are recruiting and training individuals and families to serve as resource parents for these children. We are currently receiving referrals from many Burmese children, although URMs from Liberia, Sudan, Vietnam, Ethiopia and many other countries have been resettled by LCFS in the past. With the help of LCFS and dedicated foster parents, these children can complete their education, pursue college or a trade, learn English, acculturate, and become self-sufficient, contributing citizens of our community.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a resource parent for these children, please contact our Rising Sun Office in Philadelphia at (215) 456-5700 ext. 230.

How Can I Help a Refugee this Holiday?

These cute little girls, Habssatou and Aissata, arrived to Lancaster from Cameroon in late August.  They fled along with their parents because of persecution and unrest in their home country, the Central African Republic.  Now here for nearly three months, the family has been making rapid progress adjusting to their new home. They are all quickly learning English and developing friendships with others in the community.  This is particularly true of Habssatou and Aissata, who always enthusiastically greet visitors with smile and a hug!

We often receive last-minute travel information for families such as this one.  Fortunately, Trinity Lutheran in York, and a local house church network in Lancaster responded to our urgent appeal for help.  Our agency was able to provide for their first several months of rent through donations to our Emergency Housing Fund.

Would you or your congregation consider helping provide housing assistance to a refugee family in need this holiday season?  We are grateful for any contributions that you may be able to provide. 

Donations are fully tax-deductible, and can be sent to Lutheran Refugee Services at 123 E. Vine Street Lancaster, PA 17602.  One hundred percent of your contribution will go directly to help a refugee family in our community.

Another way in which your church or family group can help a refugee family is by assembling a Welcome Box, which will be given to newly-arrived family.  Instructions for assembling Welcome Boxes can be found by clicking here.

A New Home in Lancaster

Van Hmung and his wife, Hnem Za, along with their two children (Emmanuel and Mary) arrived to Lancaster in early July.  Having fled Burma in late 2003, they lived in a large apartment complex in Malaysia for several years, until being granted resettlement in the United Sates.  Along with other Burmese refugees, they were often subject to brutal police raids and other forms of discrimination by the Malaysian law enforcement.

The Chin people are traditionally from the northwestern regions of Burma, an area rich in agriculture and natural resources.  The majority of the Chin are Christians, largely as a result of Baptist missionary efforts in the early 1900's.  More recently, the Chin have been forcebly detained and sometimes expelled from the country, because of their ethnic and religious background.

Van Hmung and his family are are being sponsored through a partnership between two local churches.  Table Community Church, a recent Brethren in Christ church-plant, has been actively involved in the day-to-day transportation needs of the family, and orienting them to the community.  Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren, located below Quarryville, has generously contributed financial support and a large portion of the household items for this family.

Since our first Chin arrival in July, nearly 20 more individuals have arrived to the area.  We are in urgent need of additional co-sponsoring churches to help welcome these families into the community.  If you would like more information about this rewarding ministry, please contact Eric Kennel at 717-397-4757 or erick@lcfsinpa.org.

More pictures of the Hmung family can be found in the Photo Albums section of the website, or by clicking here.

Local Employer Recognized

Lutheran Refugee Services works closely with a large number of companies throughout Central PA.  Last week, Job Developer Selma Onal took the time to recognize one employer who has been a particularly strong partner with our organization.

Michael Bosch, seen here at right, is the Human Resource Director at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center.  In the last year, he has provided employment opportunities for many of our refugee clients who are being resettled in Lancaster.

Refugees arrive to the country with immediate work authorization by the United States government.  They have been forced from their home countries for a variety of reasons, and are eager to put that past behind them and start a new life in this country.  If you are an employer with opportunities for our clients, please contact Selma Onal at 717-397-4757 or selmao@lcfsinpa.org .  You can also obtain information by visiting the PA State Refugee Program website, by clicking here.

Employment Workshops Offered

On May 12, Lutheran Refugee Services held an employment readiness workshop for our clients in the Lancaster area.  It was hosted by the Red Rose Intercultural & Educational Foundation.  More than 20 Meskhetian Turks attended the first workshop, where we discussed communication skills, interviewing techniques, and a variety of other topics.  Below is a photo of some of the attendees.



The second workshop featured presentations by our Job Developer, Selma Onal, and Ms. Sheba Akello, an HR representative from Community Services Group.  The workshops provided an opportunity for our clients to ask questions and get straightforward advise from someone with experience working in a Human Resources department.  Below is a picture of Ms. Akello (left) and Ms. Onal (right).

Burmese Refugees Arriving!

Tham Hin is one of nine refugee camps along the Burmese/Thai border.  Daily life in Tham Hin camp is hard for us to imagine.  Shelter means a makeshift bamboo hut.   Drinking water is neither sanitary nor easy to come by.  More than half of the population  is made up of children.  Besides lack of water, food, and medical care, the children also lack educational opportunities.  Adults are forbidden from working outside the camp. Lives are lived at a subsistence level, made even more difficult by neglect by the host country and compounded by fear of cross border raids from their country of origin, Burma.

The refugees in Tham Hin fled their homeland of Burma to escape ongoing violence.  Burma, now called Myanmer, is a country in Southeast Asia about the size of Texas.  Following independence from Britain in 1948, the people of Burma/Myanmer, which is made up of at least 15 different ethnic groups, began fighting among themselves for greater control and autonomy.  There was an especially violent military crackdown by the military government between 1995 and 1997 against opposition movements of Karen and Chin peoples.  Government suppression included forced relocation, arbitrary arrest, detention, forced labor, conscription and attempts to wipe out cultural and religious identity.

About 80% of the 9,500 refugees in Tham Hin Refugee Camp are Karen people.  Since the Thai government does not support the refugees, conditions are unsanitary, the UN High Commission of Refugees proposed in 2005 that the entire camp be resettled in the United States.  Delayed by legal issues, the first Karen refugees began arriving in the United States in 2006. 

Lutheran Refugee Services is already beginning to receive Burmese refugees to Central PA.  We are urgently seeking Burmese-speakers and other community volunteers to help assist in resettling these vulnerable families.  Anyone who can assist with language or community resources should contact Eric Kennel at 717-397-4757 or erick@lcfsinpa.org.