The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the organization that deals with refugees on the ground. It was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,300 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 32.9 million persons.
Zambia is one of the top ten host countries in the world for refugees. Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola are three of the countries that border Zambia, and considering the state that all three of these countries are in right now..you can see why people would be feeling these countries. Zambia currently hosts 113,000 refugees, with the majority from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The area where we will be going receives refugees from DRC, Angola and Rwanda. The name of the camp is Mayukwayukwa, it is located within the Kaoma district of the western province of Zambia. We will be taking our nursing students to this refugee camp for two weeks, there they will completing the community outreach part of their nursing programme.
We will post more upon our return!
Jessica and Lianne
5 comments:
hi girls;
am at work and the girls wanted to say how much they love your blogs. we are worried "cause of all of the stuff we hear about angola and the other camps. How close will you be to "darfor"? please be safe and we will pray for everyone. love ya...mom
Hey gals!
I am anxiously awaiting your next post about your experiences in a refugee camp. I pray that you are staying safe.
Yesterday was the first day of autumn in Canada. As you guys are heading into hot weather....it's chilly here and we've got the wood stove fired up. Time to get out the fleece sweaters and gumboots!
After talking to you yesterday you have been in my thoughts..hang in there you two..I know you are out of touch with the Internet right now, but on your return I wanted you to have this story to inspire you as you continue to inspire all of us. This story of a Pear Tree is for you....
Don't judge a life by one difficult season. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest...
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree's life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are - and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Don't judge a life by one difficult season. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come.
Aspire to Inspire Before you Expire,
Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply, Speak Kindly
Leave the Rest to God
Happiness Keeps you Sweet,
Trials Keep you Human,
Sorrows Keep you Humble,
Success Keeps you Glowing
God will keep you going….
LOL Mom (Ma B)
whsaxxaDean Jessica and Leanne: Know I have been bad about commenting, but knew you would be away for awhile. Looking forward to hearing from you real soon. Sure hope and Pray you are both well and safe and not wearing yourselves out completely. We will all feel better after yodwfwur Mom & Dad's trip to see you. Do look after yourselves, know you are looking after so many others. Am sure you are experiencing some very sad & heart wrenching moments. Did you get the family pictures I forwarded? We are leaving on Monday for Kelowna & are looking forward to spending some time together. We will end up at Deans for Thanksgiving. We really look forward to this trip in the fall. It is very special!! Everytime we do it we are very thankful. Linda & Mom picked up some special garlic for me at the Garlic Festival in New Denver. Maybe Mom told you about it. All in all we have had a very nice summer with 10 days at the Sunshine Coast as well as the weddings. Enjoyed every moment.!!!Wish you were coming home for Christmas but understand and we can still have Christmas in January. If it is early in January maybe I will leave the tree up. (Keep the candles burning until you return)
Stay safe and pray for your safe return and health. Love from your Nannie & Grandad xxx ooo. Grandad is off to ART Class again. Good for both of us. Ha Ha.!
Hi Girls! I'm thinking about you! And Praying that all is okay at the refugee camp. You are in Sam (and my) nightly prayers and we look forward to new photos. Jessica when you talk to your mom can you ask her to give me a call (or send me her number) so I can send something with her for you when she comes down!?? Big Hugs from all of us!! Love you! Kristi
Post a Comment