WELCOME TO THE REFUGEE SUPPORT EXPRESS
THIS WEEK:
WE’VE LANDED
Our US tour is underway!
John and Paul kicked off the tour exhibiting at the 1 Journey Festival in Washington.
They’ll be returning to Washington for the Devex conference next week, but in the meantime, they’ll be taking the tour to the other states. Next stop: New York City!
Remaining tour dates:
6-7 June New York City
9-10 June Minneapolis
12 June Washington
13 June Montclair
14 June Libertyville
16 June Atlanta
18 June Bridgeport
Standing with refugees podcast
For this week’s podcast, Paul spoke to Sharon Silvey, founder of Refucomm and friend of Refugee Support.
Sharon first began to aid refugees on the Balkan route in 2015, working as part of an emergency support team. The team were trying to help communicate procedural information about asylum rights to refugees arriving in Greece, but were struggling to connect with refugees, but got frustrated with the duplication and wasted information.
It was clear to Sharon that what refugees really needed was reliable and timely information about their legal rights and the asylum process; but that their initial methods of trying to share this crucial information through written documents were inaccessible to refugees.
She realised that information needed to be made more accessible to refugees, as literacy and logistic issues—such a general block on streaming videos within refugee camps—made it impossible for refugees to access important information about their rights.
And so, she created Refucomm—an organisation that provides up-to-date and detailed information to refugees about the complicated asylum procedures through innovative means such as social media and micro SD cards.
This is a really interesting podcast with such an innovative and passionate thinker. Keep up the incredible work, Sharon.
Subscribe today to our weekly podcasts today so that you never miss one.
Staying informed – what we’re watching
This week, we’ve been watching a worrying video about the frantic efforts currently being made to help shelter Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh against oncoming storms.
As monsoon season looms, and Bangladesh struggles to cope with the increasing number of Rohingya refugees fleeing from persecutions in Myanmar, refugees and aid workers are scrambling to prepare for incoming storms, and the chaos that they will bring with them.
Temporary housing is being erected out of temporary materials, such as bamboo and plastic, as Bangladesh plans to return the refugees to Myanmar, and therefore prohibits any permanent construction.
It is feared that the new and existing shelters will not be fit for purpose against the wind and rain, and that many refugees’ lives will be at risk.
However, the most dangerous concerns are of of a diphtheria or water borne diseases outbreak, which might occur if rain levels cause sewers to flood.
Our thoughts are with all refugees and aid workers fighting to prepare a safe place in time for storms. We hope to return to aid refugees in Bangladesh as soon as we can.
TEA-M Work – Helping Charitea
We’ve been selected by Brighton-based royalTEA, Bird and Blend Tea Company, as their ‘CharitTEA’ for the next quarter.
Every time you purchase one of their cold brew Fruit Salad teas, all profits from your purchase will go towards helping refugees in Greece. Brew-tea-ful!
We buy lots of fruit from local suppliers in Greece for the free shops at the refugee camps, so this blend was a qualiTEA match.
Fruity, calorie free, and refugee friendly, you can now transform your daily cup of tea into something that will help those in difficultTEA, and stand in solidariTEA with refugees.
Why don’t you give it a CHAI?
If you or your organisation would like to share your creativiTEA and join our brilliant communiTEA of volunteers and donors, please contact us. We always love to hear about your fundraising ideas, and about how we can work with you.
Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next time.
Please contact us today at info@refugeesupporteu.com if you would like to aid refugees, or just want to get in touch.
Refugee Support
