LCFS Refugee Resettlement Program

World Refugee Day Event: June 20

 

Everyone is welcome at Lancaster's second-annual World Refugee Day celebration, to be held on June 2oth at the Eastern Market, 308 E. King Street.  Beginning at 9am, the event will feature multi-cultural cuisine, international arts and crafts and a variety of other locally-grown fresh flowers and produce for sale from Eastern Market vendors.  Children's activities will be available and live international music will be performed throughout the day.   A short program will be held from 10:30am to 2:00pm.

Countries around the globe have long recognized June 20 as World Refugee Day.  It is a day to celebrate the many contributions of refugees, and raise public awareness of the millions around the world who have been forced to flee their homes and are still waiting for permanent solutions.  According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) there are currently 17 million refugees and other "people of concern" scattered throughout the globe.

Last year's event in Lancaster drew approximately 700 people to the Eastern Market, including local refugees, sponsoring groups, and other interested community members.  This year, representatives of local refugee resettlement organizations, the Lancaster mayor's office, the PA State Refugee Program, and local refugees themselves have again been invited to participate.  There is no admission fee, and the public is encouraged to come out and celebrate the many contributions of refugees in our local community and around the world.

The event is being jointly sponsored by the East King Improvement District, Church World Service / Lancaster, and Lutheran Refugee Services in Central PA.  For more information, please contact Beth May at 717-381-2891 or Andrea Miller at 717-397-4757.

We Need Your Help!

At Lutheran Refugee Services, our mission is to "Welcome the Stranger" living in our midst - many whom have come from countries of extreme turmoil and tragedy.  Despite the current economic downturn, we believe that the United States still offers hope and opportunity to those whom the rest of the world has forgotten.  Yet as government funding for the U.S. Refugee Program fails to keep pace with the true costs of resettlement, we are experiencing increasing challenges as we attempt to fulfill our calling to extend hospitality and love.

Providing this welcome requires the support of you, our community.  Here are ways that you can get involved:

 

Sponsorship:  A four-month committment to guide and assist a newly-arrived refugee family.  Includes helping find and furnish an apartment, provide transportation to appointments, seek employment, and be their mentors and friends!  We expect the following families to arrive in the coming months, who do not yet have a sponsor.  Would your church or group of friends consider welcoming them in this way?

• Somali couple with 2-year old son
• Chin Burmese families
• Iraqi family of 4
• Iraqi family of 6
• Cuban family of 3
• Nepali Bhutanese families of 7, 5, and 4 people

Welcome Boxes:  This is a great project for a Sunday School class, book club, or another group that doesn't feel ready to sponsor a family... but still wants to help!  These boxes are given to families when they move in to their new homes.  Information about how to assemble a box can be obtained by calling 717-397-4757, or clicking here.  We are in urgent need of the following:

• Bathroom Box (pack in laundry basket)
• Kitchen Box (pack in garbage can)
• Bedroom Box
• School Kits (pack in book-bag)
• Tool Kit (pack in small carry case)

Emergency Housing Fund:  This fund is used to support families going through financial hardship, or to help pay for rent/utility costs for those who do not have a church sponsor.  Your gift is fully tax-deductible, and 100% goes to support a refugee family.  We are in urgent need of donations to this fund.  You may either send your contribution to our office (123 E Vine Street Lancaster, PA 17602), or click here to make an online-contribution.  Please specify your gift for the Refugee Emergency Housing Fund.

Volunteers!  We are always grateful for those who sign up to assist our families in other ways also.  Even one person can make a difference!  We need transportation volunteers, temporary hosts, employers, landlords, ESL tutors, and the list goes on...!

For more infomation about any of these opportunities or information about other ways that you can assist a refugee family, please contact Nan Garber, Resource Developer.  She can be reached at 717-397-4757 or nang@lcfsinpa.org.  On behalf of the vulnerable families we serve, THANK YOU!

A Burmese Family Finds Peace and Love, Thanks to Lutheran Churches

A family of five was able to escape persecution in Burma thanks to a ministry team of Refugee Sponsorship called Lutheran Community Outreach (LCO).  LCO is the conbination of five churches: Brickerville United Lutheran, St. Paul Lutheran Lititiz, St. Paul Lutheran Pennryn, Salem Lutheran, and Zion Lutheran.

The family of Burmese refugees arrived to the United States on March 18, 2009 after a 22-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  After a layover at JFK Airport, members of the LCO and a Lutheran Refugee Services caseworker welcomed them at the Lancaster Airport around midnight.

 

What a long and grueling journey for such a young family; father John is 30 years old, mother Mang is 32 years old, eldest son Samuel is 15, second daughter Gracy is 12 and youngest daughter Jessica is only one year old.

 

Within two weeks of their arrival, the family started attending ESL classes with the help of the church sponsor group.  The refugees are also able to adapt faster to American life thanks to the kindness of a church member named Susan, who has opened her home to host them for about 2 months.  In a very short period, Susan and the family have become dear friends.

 

Samuel and Gracy have received the required immunization shots for school registration.  They are both very excited to go to school, to meet new friends and speak the English they are learning.  They are preparing for the upcoming school years during this summer holiday.

 

The family has taken to the small town of Lititz well, and they enjoy the neighborhood they live in greately.  They treasure the early morning spring breezes, and the children love to ride bicycles around the neighborhood in the early evening.  On Sundays, they are invited to their sponsor churches for the morning service and sometimes they also visit to the Lancaster Chin Burmese Christian Fellowship's evening worship service.

 

Since their arrival, the church sponsor group has also provided them with transportation to go shopping and to any appointments.

 

Joseph Lian, a Burmese refugee himself, has been the caseworker working closely with the family. "By working as a liaison between the refugees and those supporting them, I've started realizing that kindness and love are the power of human spirit.  As a refugee myself, I've often thought that we are resettled and accepted by a country because of their wealth.  Now I feel that we are here because of the kindness of the people here and we are building a new life thanks to their caring hearts."