Tuesday, June 21, 2011

World Refugee Day

I mentioned this event last week in a post and I said I would follow up! So here you go...
Last night we celebrated World Refugee Day at our office with a dinner and program! It was a great event and we had an awesome turnout! It was a stressful 13 hour day for me, but well worth the results! It was great to see so many people excited and passionate about refugees. The night started with a "walk through" what refugees go through to come to the United States. We had four refugee families who gave their story in a 'passport'. This included their journey from their native home, to a neighboring country living in a refugee camp, and then to the United States. A journey that took them anywhere from 3 to 18 years. These refugees came to the program and were there to meet with people as they entered the building. (see the pictures below). The program included some ethnic entertainment, amazing food (Ethiopian, Somalian, and Chin), and concluded with John Dau speaking. John Dau came to the United States 9 years ago from Sudan. He was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_of_Sudan He shared some excellent things and was so passionate about his journey and the foundations he has established to help others in the US as well as in Sudan.

Here are some pictures from the event.
 Some refugees and coworkers representing clients from Burma.
 A Burmese cultural dance.
 The crowd.
 Clients from Iraq.
An Iraqi cultural dance.
 John Dau speaking.
 A song from Burma.
 Refugees from Nepal.
 Refugees from Somalia.
Our entire Refugee Staff, along with John Dau and other refugees
who were in attendance.

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