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Empowering Refugees for the Job Market
Do you remember your first job? Maybe you delivered pizzas in high school, flipped burgers at McDonald’s or folded clothes at the Gap. Having no formal working skills yet, you probably fumbled your way through the interview process and the first days on the job. Now take that potentially awkward experience and imagine how difficult the process of getting a first job can be as a refugee in a new country.
One of the most challenging tasks that refugees face is finding employment. With little knowledge of where to look or how to go about applying for jobs, the process can seem overwhelming. But these new neighbors are eager to be self-sustaining and look for opportunities to establish themselves and their families as valued members of their new community.
Partnering with a local church, World Relief Boise recently led a job search workshop, specifically designed for high school students looking to understand more about potential opportunities in their community. They learned about U.S. work culture, employer expectations, how to look for a job, identifying skills and employment history, and had practice interviews.
Volunteers, including a Human Resources Specialist and General Manager from a local restaurant, spent the entire day working alongside refugees. Reflecting on the success of the day, one of the volunteers observed that, “this was beneficial not only for the refugees in attendance, but [also] for our company’s managers (who conduct most of the interviews for us) and would love to get [more] involved in the process as well.”
With the help of these employment workshops, refugees all across the United States have been placed in jobs, growing in independence and transitioning to life in America. Empowering these new neighbors with education about employment in their community provides a foundation for success for everyone involved.
Do you want to help refugees prepare for the job market in your community? To learn more about life-giving opportunities like this, contact a World Relief office near you.
Pray, Educate and Empower: 3 Ways You Can Abolish Modern-Day Slavery
There are more than 20 million slaves today. That’s more than 20 million human lives that are being exploited, abused and neglected. These victims of human trafficking are forced into prostitution or coerced to do hard labor with little to no pay. It’s prevalent in many countries around the world, including the US where it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked into forced labor or the sex trade each year. But in spite of the enormity of this abuse and neglect of God’s creation, there is significant hope. Churches, organizations and volunteers throughout the US are on the front lines combatting this injustice with the power and love of Jesus Christ. And as we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the US, we want you to join us at World Relief as we empower the vulnerable to overcome one of the worst tragedies of our time.
Here are three simple ways you can be a part of this movement to end modern-day slavery:
- Pray – one of the most powerful tools we have as Christians is prayer. God’s powerful response to the prayer of a righteous person knows no bounds (James 5). Join our partners at Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking on January 10 at 6 PM EST to pray for freedom.
- Educate – Know the realities of the problems and the solutions. To learn more about the facts, figures and stories of human trafficking, visit here. And don’t keep this to yourself, but share the knowledge with friends, small groups and others in your community – our impact is stronger when we’re united.
- Empower – To empower victims and survivors of modern-day slavery, you can either invest financially at https://worldrelief.org/donate or you can give your time and skills by helping survivors recover. For more information about volunteer opportunities, check out https://worldrelief.org/volunteer/us-opportunities.
The problem is enormous, but as followers of Jesus Christ who gives freedom from bondage, we have the solution to bring an end to modern-day slavery.
Empower a Hero: Mary in Malawi
Mary Molo’s greatest joy comes from educating the children of her rural community. But she doesn’t keep this joy to herself. She invites as many others as possible to be a part of her influential work in Malawi. Through her community-based childcare center, Mary brings her neighbors together to serve vulnerable children, many of whom come from HIV-affected families. When people from across the village pool their unique gifts and talents, they can offer children a wider range of physical, emotional and spiritual care. “My advice to everyone is that let us get united towards supporting early childhood education,” Mary said.
The government of Malawi depends on communities to provide their own preschool services, which prepare children for primary and elementary school. When Mary founded her center 11 years ago, she had been widowed and raising her six children on her own. But there was still room in her heart. When the Swaswa Childcare Center opened, Mary soon had even more children to love.
Then six years ago, World Relief Malawi began supporting Mary’s initiative. Her capacity to serve and teach the children of her community grew even more.
World Relief trains church volunteers to become closely-linked supporters of childcare centers. Across Malawi, 34 churches are caring for the children in their communities. Volunteers use their own resources to serve vulnerable children by cultivating gardens outside the centers and using the crops to prepare nutritious meals. This is essential because many children in Malawi are malnourished. Healthy diets support the development of young children and prepare their growing minds for future educational success.
The volunteers have great capacity to love. As they provide emotional and social support, the children develop self-esteem and confidence. In one year, 7,998 children in Malawi were served by World Relief staff, volunteers, churches and leaders like Mary. At the Swaswa Childcare Center, she’s giving the most vulnerable children the strong start they need to become the future leaders of Malawi.
To empower heroes like Mary, join us at empowerahero.org.
Make a New Resolution for Justice – Empower a Hero!
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Isaiah 42:3-4
At World Relief, we believe that justice begins when we empower the most vulnerable to be the heroes of their own stories of transformation.
World Relief – Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 4, 2014
And while it’s not the lead role, you have an important part to play. You’re invited to stand with these heroes and share their stories of physical, spiritual and economic change. Alongside their local churches, these brave women and men are leading their neighbors to overcome some of the worst injustices.
This is why Empower a Hero works (and why you should join us!):
- It’s sustainable: When we give out a single meal or a pair of shoes, we only provide temporary fixes to deeper issues. Instead, we need to get at the roots of poverty to make lasting changes. Through Empower a Hero, staff and local churches equip volunteers with the tools and training to become better parents, health workers, farmers or pastors. Then they share their knowledge with others, creating exponential transformation that grows and spreads throughout communities.
- It dignifies the vulnerable: Acts of charity have the potential to rob dignity from the poor and imply that they don’t have the strength or ability to lead their own communities out of poverty. But justice sees the vulnerable through the eyes of their Creator: loved, dignified and capable of using their gifts to serve their families and communities.
- It’s a movement of the global church: When the church here stands with the church across the world, we can do the work of justice together. Through Empower a Hero, World Relief works with local pastors to awaken their congregations to their God-given role: to proclaim the good news of Jesus in both word and deed. Then, church members are ready to address the spiritual and physical needs of their neighbors.
Throughout January, we’ll introduce you to several heroes who are empowered by local churches to rise above injustice – and who are inviting others to stand with them for change. We pray their stories will transform your heart as well.
Ready to sign up? You can join the movement today at Empowerahero.org!
Celebration, Hope and Giving – Looking Back and Planning Forward
In just a few days, many people around the world will ring in the New Year. It’s a time of celebration, a time of hope and generosity. Here are a few of the things we’re celebrating at World Relief…
Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Though there is still much work to be done for stability and reconciliation to ensue in the DRC, people like Pastor Fabian are paving the way for sustainable peace. Having been kidnapped by rebels himself, he leads his congregation in word and deed as he cares for all people, no matter their tribe or ethnicity.
Pastor Fabian in Congo
Friendship for refugees in the US. Remember Michael andAwet? Both originally from Eritrea, they were forced to flee because of violence. Leaving everything familiar, they were resettled as refugees in the United States, where they met and became roommates. World Relief in DuPage-Aurora helped these new friends transition to their new reality in this new environment. Today, Michael and Awet are paying it forward by helping other refugees with transportation in their time of need.
Good local leadershipand forgiveness in Cambodia. Orn Raim is a leader in her community in Cambodia. Trained by World Relief in anti-trafficking and conflict resolution, she’s teaching others in her village what she has learned and seeing deep transformation – violence against women and children has reduced by 90% in her community.
We’ve also welcomed 7,948 refugees out of danger into loving communities in the United States. 147,083 women and men have been equipped to overcome material poverty through Savings for Life groups. 3,100 peacemakers have been trained to resolve conflict at the community level in war-torn areas. And more than 3,000 churches have been mobilized to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
Even though we’ve seen incredible progress, there’s much more to do and we can’t do it alone. Will you be a part of this work in 2015 and join us as we continue to celebrate with hope and generosity?
When the Waves Are Silent: 10 Years after the Aceh Tsunami
10 years ago today, Candra had no idea that his life was about to be forever changed. Candra and his fiancé were visiting friends and family in a small village two kilometers (1.24 miles) from the coast in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. They were planning to spend an enjoyable Sunday at the beach. While they waited for friends, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake tore their world apart, releasing destructive energy equivalent to 1,500 atomic bombs. Unfortunately, the earthquake wasn’t the worst thing that would happen on December 26, 2004.
Shortly after, Candra and his friends saw crowds of people running from the coast. When they asked what was happening, those running by told them of an approaching wave. Candra and his friends laughed in disbelief. They decided to watch the canal to see what kind of wave could come two kilometers inland.
Fifteen minutes later, Candra and his friends saw something that most of us have only seen in movies– a gigantic wave overwhelming everything in its path, washing it all away: cars, buildings, electric wires, buses, and people. Children. Then they began running for their lives. Candra and a few others squeezed into the back of a truck already full of people. But the tsunami was faster than the truck. It caught the truck and lifted it high above the ground, carrying it until it collided with the roof of a house. The people crammed inside the truck immediately jumped out and waited for the water to recede, talking frantically, planning, praying and wondering if this was the End of Days.
Aceh immediately after the Tsunami
After the wave washed back out to sea, Candra and his friends began running for safety again. They ran another mile through the mud and destruction, and the people frantically searched for lost family members, trying to get to the high water mark and what they hoped was safety.
One of the deadliest natural disasters on record, the Aceh Tsunami devastated Indonesia and surrounding countries. Candra and his fiancé survived, but more than 230,000 of his fellow Indonesians did not. The scars of this traumatic experience run deep. The tsunami broke families apart, destroyed businesses, ruined homes. Those who survived are still healing from the psychological, physical and emotional wounds.
More of the destruction the Aceh Tsunami left in 2004.
Candra ended up joining World Relief in its efforts to restore Aceh. Motivated by that disaster, he studied disaster risk reduction and is still working today for World Relief as a Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist. It is his job to empower local churches and organizations to help vulnerable communities prepare for future disasters. When asked why he works for World Relief, Candra’s response is simple. “We are building the people, not just the houses”. Anybody can build a house. But building a person, empowering a community, seeing real transformation in all areas of life is something special.
To learn more about World Relief’s current programs in Indonesia, visit https://worldrelief.org/indonesia.
A Warm Welcome for Refugees This Christmas | We Welcome Refugees
Christmas, it’s one of the most celebrated times of year in the US. With millions of people traveling to visit family, trees on display, and gift exchanges with loved ones, churches across the country will overflow with visitors as they remember the glorious and scandalous birth of Jesus Christ. But many of our neighbors have significant needs this Christmas season, making the most wonderful time of the year, as the song goes, a bit daunting.
Through partnering with churches and volunteers, World Relief helped 7,948 refugees resettle in the US this year. Having fled their country from war, persecution, or natural disaster, World Relief comes alongside these new neighbors to make sure the first few months of transitioning to this new culture are as seamless as possible. In light of this and the truth of Jesus Christ’s gospel message, Christians around the country have responded to the call to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35).
In Fort Worth, Texas, more than 25 volunteers recently hosted a Coats & Cocoa event that provided winter items to over 350 refugees. After distributing the coats, volunteers got to visit the refugee families to share hot cocoa and sing Christmas carols – sharing some of the cheerful American traditions with their new neighbors who might have never experienced these before. One refugee kept saying, “Praise God! Praise God!” when coats were given to her family.
With an overabundance of winter gear donations for the event, Fort Worth will be able to provide for the needs of refugees that will be resettled in the coming months as well. This is another great example of the local church doing what Jesus did – sharing God’s love through tangible provision, relationship and compassion.
Join us as we continue to welcome families from all over the world to celebrate this cherished and treasured season.
For more information on how you can get involved in welcoming refugees, please contact your local World Relief office. Visit https://worldrelief.org/us-offices.
What Is the ‘Biblical’ Approach to Educating Undocumented Immigrant Students?
Read this recent CBN article and hear Shapri LoMaglio from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities discuss financial aid for undocumented students from a Christian perspective.
Hope Is in the Details: A Story from Malawi
Ntchisi, a district located in the heart of Malawi, is among the most vulnerable places where World Relief works. Forty percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Most people make their living as farmers, but the difficult conditions they work against make for poor harvests and profits. Preventable diseases like malaria and diarrhea are common here, but healthcare facilities and doctors are extremely few and far between. Some say Ntchisi is a place to drive through – but not to linger in for a visit.
But this is precisely what World Relief Malawi intern Stephen Blazs did. Once he was able to take a closer look at a village in Ntchisi, he noticed small signs of transformation despite the deep injustices that existed.
Much of his role over the summer was to develop new ways to monitor the progress of World Relief programs. But one day, he set out from the office in the capital city to visit a “model village” in Ntchisi. Here, World Relief volunteers and staff worked to improve the health of mothers, orphans and vulnerable children younger than five. Because of his studies in public health at Johns Hopkins University, Blazs understood the magnitude of the vulnerabilities of the region, but he could also see the signs of hope and progress that the untrained eye overlooks.
In this village, children wore shoes and socks hung from clotheslines – displaying the purchasing power families had built from joining savings groups. Clean pots and pans sat out to dry, preventing germs from spreading at the next meal. Yards were dotted with latrines and hand-washing stations, protecting the entire village from water-borne illness – and reducing the chance of having to travel to a distant health clinic.
“It was encouraging to see an example where community development was working,” Blazs said upon his return to the US. Thanks to the commitment of volunteers who share life-saving health lessons with their neighbors, lasting changes were taking root in this village and many others in three other districts across Malawi.
Interested in learning and standing with the vulnerable through a hands-on internship? Check out World Relief’s domestic and international opportunities today!
Stephen Blazs is completing a Master of Science in Public Health degree through Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. As a World Relief intern, he developed monitoring and evaluation tools for various health and social development programs in Malawi and Mozambique.
Ag in Action: An Update from South Sudan
Stephen Good, World Relief’s Agribusiness Senior Technical Advisor based in Mozambique, recently monitored some of our agricultural programs in South Sudan. The following are his impressions of World Relief’s sustainable development work with South Sudanese farmers.
South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. Officially declaring independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, this infant republic is in the initial stages of forming a cohesive nation. But the road to unity has been violent and today marks one year of this new country being at war with itself. Beyond conflict, South Sudan also faces more common, natural challenges.
Western Equatoria State receives rain from April to December. The soils are relatively good, but are easily damaged by exposure to the hot sun and rains. Local farmers generally use a field for no more than two years before abandoning it to slash and burn a new area of forest. This is intensive and expensive work as extra hired labor is often required. Plus, it inflicts long-term damage on the environment.
Even though travel is a significant challenge in this region, World Relief is working with local farmers to ensure lasting development. Just to get to the project site takes an hour and a half on a propjet plane, followed by a 3 hour trip in a Landcruiser, or an 8-10 hour, bone-jarring automobile ride from Juba.
Where peace ensues in Western Equatoria State, opportunities abound everywhere you look. World Relief’s agriculture program for food security, sponsored by Canadian Food Grains Bank, provides improved seed for maize and cassava to 600 farmers. A significant focus is helping them to multiply these seeds for future use and learning how to protect these seeds from disease and pests. Equally important is the work in teaching improved conservation agriculture methods. Green manures and cover crops (legumes) provide a living source of mulch and nitrogen which is able to restore the soils quickly and sustainably. Using these practices could completely eliminate the destruction of the forests, improve yields, reduce labor and even allow farmers to improve marginal land to a strong productive state.
Farmers are also given opportunity to join World Relief’s Savings for Life program. Savings for Life trains people on forming and facilitating savings groups. Savings group members learn how to save and borrow in a format that doesn’t require a formal banking institution. Many of the farmers who are in savings groups have started using loans from the group to improve their situations by purchasing seed, hiring labor and expanding their growing areas. One farmer said, “If we do agriculture, we can produce crops, sell them and save more. If we do savings, we can have more money for farming and production.”
To learn more about World Relief’s work toward sustainable peace in South Sudan, read our most recent statement from our advocacy experts at https://worldrelief.org/file/advocacy/south_sudan_statement.pdf.
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