WELCOME TO THE REFUGEE SUPPORT EXPRESS
THIS WEEK:
Empowering refugees
We are sad to announce that our Empowerment Fund as had a small setback You can read more about why in our latest blog post, but the news, albeit unwelcomed, is not altogether surprising.
Unfortunately, despite the good and legal intentions of the fund, some activities were shut down by the police last week.
We’ve shared stories of the empowerment fund over the last few months. It has been a pleasure to watch how the talented recipients of the fund have not only improved their own lives, but others too. So it’s hard not to feel disappointed at this news.
A refugee camp is no place to live, and the fund helped refugees gain some normality in their lives, and to thrive at what they were good at.
But we have had to deal with many obstacles before, and as with these, we will try our hardest to overcome them. We’ve spent the last 10 days talking to public bodies, lawyers, accountants and other camp actors to see how we can get everyone up and running again, and ensure that this won’t happen again.
Since 2016, we have prided ourselves on being there to help people with basic needs. But as we have expanded, so have needs, and therefore the definition of dignity. The fund was a way for us to help empower refugees, and we will do all we can to continue giving others strength (and resources where we can) to be self-sufficient.
We will keep you updated on the status of the fund. Please keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Keeping warm in Bangladesh
Some of you may remember the excellent work that the small team of volunteers at Tumbru camp did last year to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Whilst we were unable to continue servicing the camp due to restrictive access to Bangladesh and Tumbru camp, we managed to do several large scale distributions that not only helped the Rohingya, but the surrounding Bangladeshi community, too.
With the remaining money from last year’s fundraising for refugees in Bangladesh, we’ve made a small difference this winter by purchasing 350 blankets for Rohingya orphans in Bangladesh.
There are an estimated 9,000 Rohingya orphans in Bangladesh, and little prospect of any of the one million plus Rohingya refugees returning to a Myanmar free from persecution.
It may be of little consequence in the context of this enormous humanitarian crisis, but we hope these blankets will be a small source of comfort for the children, even if it only in one the most primal ways. No child should have to shiver through the winter.
Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next week.
Please contact us today at info@refugeesupporteu.com if you would like to help empower refugees.
Refugee Support
