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Refugees
Refugees from Myanmar pose as they wait to perform during celebrations to mark "World Refugee Day" in New Delhi June 20, 2007. (REUTERS/Tanushree Punwani (INDIA)
Today, some 40 million people worldwide are uprooted by violence and persecution. They do not just flee persecution and war, but also injustice, exclusion, environmental pressures, competition for scarce resources and the miseries caused by dysfunctional states. The task facing the international community and volunteers, is to understand this new environment and to find ways to unlock the potential of refugees who have much to offer if they are given the opportunity to regain control over their lives.

We are highlighting how volunteers are assisting refugees integrate in their adopted countries, find jobs and become volunteers themselves.


Related articles
13 February 2009
 Volunteering to protect children in Thailand 
Mae La camp, Tak Province, Thailand: Volunteers from a number of organizations teamed together to help vulnerable children in Thailand.  Read article
More about: Thailand  Children
03 February 2009
 IVD with the underprivileged in Nepal 
Kathmandu, Jhapa and Damak, Nepal: As well as a street cleaning campaign, UNV cooperated with UNESCO and local NGOs in Kathmandu to distribute books to orphan children. There were also events in the Bhutanese refugee camps of eastern Nepal.  Read article
More about: Nepal  Children
23 May 2008
 Earthquake Diary: 23 May by Liu Lei
Mianyang, Sichuan province, China: In order to make the best use of the IFRC tents, we negotiate with the Mianyang Red Cross that all family tents will only be used by hospitals and schools; small tents go to individual refugees. According to the plan, together with the regional health delegate UNV will help track the usage and operate an inspection to avoid abuse of the system.  Read article
More about: China  Emergency relief
15 August 2007
 Volunteers battle to recover mudslide victims 
Joel Lubale, a local resident talking about the rescue efforts at the site of the mudslides. (Photo: Edward Kale/IRIN)
Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya's capacity to deal with disasters has been in the spotlight again after volunteers fought to locate people buried alive when mudslides smashed into their homes during heavy rainfall in the country’s western region.  Read article
From: IRIN News
More about: Kenya  Environment
20 June 2007
 Help refugees in transition by Susan Watson
Mr Huang Guohua escaped to NZ with his daughter Kaixin in 2006. Him and his wife were tortured for several years in labour camps before Chinese authorities beat to death his three-month-pregnant wife. Both were illegally detained for practicing Falun Gong in China. (Epoch Times, June 2007)
Auckland, New Zealand: RMS Refugee Resettlement encourages people to help refugees settle in New Zealand.   Read article
More about: New Zealand

 

Related links
Aviation Sans Frontières volunteers ease air journey for refugees 
The France-based Aviation Sans Frontières (ASF) charity is assisting in one of the biggest resettlement programmes in the world, but its staff will not be piloting repatriation flights but joining them as passengers. ASF received an overwhelming response when it issued a call recently for volunteers to physically escort groups of 30-35 of these refugees as they are taken by air from Kathmandu to Brussels.  Visit site
Red Cross / Red Crescent (IFRC) 
On these pages you will find information about how you can volunteer with IFRC's 186 National Societies around the world and help in their mission to assist the lives of the most vulnerable. The International Federation does not recruit volunteers to work overseas, as it works through its National Societies. The International Federation instead focuses on supporting volunteering development in our member societies.   Visit site
Trained volunteers disseminate mental health message in Sichuan 
In 2007, an AusAID-funded team of key mental health experts formulated a set of ten key messages to assist communities in China manage children's mental health post disaster. Teachers and community leaders trained when the messages were piloted are currently volunteering in Sichuan and are regarded as 'on-the-ground' experts in psychological first aid for children.  Visit site

Related blog entries
Children in the Sichuan earthquake zone make the best of living in temporary accommodation. (L. Liu/UNV)
02 June 2008, 23:06
Earthquake Diary: 1 June 
Sunday is International Children's Day, and this year people around China have one common concern: children in the earthquake-hit regions. We know that many children suffered in the devastating quake but there are still many of them who survived, and they are eager to get back to study and playing with their friends. Children are the most vulnerable group in our community and much attention needs to be paid on them.  Read entry

  Read comments  [ 1 comment ]
Lacking adequate sanitation and water, people in the Sichuan earthquake zone dig wells. (L.Liu/UNV)
02 June 2008, 22:56
Earthquake Diary: 30 May 
The best way to prevent epidemics in quake affected areas is to guarantee the safety of drinking water and the treatment of waste. IFRC has paid much attention to that and sent a health delegation to follow it up. Today I will go with the British ERU to Jiulong and Banqiao Townships of Mianzhu City, which were destroyed by the tremor, to investigate where to locate the water purification system and set up mobile toilets in order to ensure sanitation.  Read entry

  Read comments  [ 2 comments ]
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