Kentucky Refugee Ministries in Lexington

Burmese and Chin Interpreters

2011-03-07T08:38:00.001-08:00

In anticipation of resettleing a new Burmese population to Lexington, KRM is looking for contract Burmese and/or Chin interpreters. If you or anyone you know speaks either of these languages, please contact us at (859)226-5661.

Call to Action

2011-02-24T06:14:00.000-08:00

Friends,
Please call your Senators (for those in Ky, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul) and urge them NOT to cut funding for Migration and Refugee Assistance or Office of Refugee Resettlement. You can reach both Senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202)224-3121 and asking for either Senator. It's easy! All they ask for is your name and address!

This is an urgent need, we are already experiencing the effects of cuts and we need your help! Please call and exercise your democratic rights and privileges, it only takes a minute!

We’re Hiring - Position has been filled

2011-02-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

Part Time Pre-Arrival Specialist

Will be responsible for renting and setting up apartments and building relationships with landlords. Must be organized and high energy.

Please send resumes to bkleine@krmlex.org

UPDATE: This position has been filled, thanks to everyone for their interest!

Herald Leader Article

2011-01-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

Everyone check out this article written by Merlene Davis, on Kiza, a newly arrived refugee who is an incredibly talented painter. Make sure to go by his exhibit at Christ Church on Market St 9:30-3:30 M-F.

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/01/25/1610280/merlene-davis-artistic-talent.html#more

Goodwill Donations

2011-01-07T08:28:00.001-08:00

As the weather continues to become colder, Kentucky Refugee Ministries is in desparate need of winter clothing for our clients. Most of our clients come to Kentucky with little more than the clothes on their back, and because they come from warm weather climates, almost no one is prepared for the cold winter weather.

Unfortunately, we don't have adequate space in our office to take clothes as donations. Because of this, KRM and Goodwill have formed a partnership to provide refugee families with the opportunity to shop at Goodwill at no cost to them, but we need your help. When donations of clothes and shoes are brought to Goodwill in Kentucky Refugee Ministries name, we get credit to take new families shopping.

At the moment, we are negative in credit. If you have items you're considering donating to Goodwill, please remember us and ask to donate them for Kentucky Refugee Ministries Agency Assistance Program. All Goodwills in Lexington, KY participate in this program. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call our office at (859)226-5661.

A Refugee Artist--Kiza Didier Mukandama

2010-12-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Today one of our refugee client's brought a book in with samples of his paintings. We didn't know what to expect, but we were amazed by his powerful paintings. He had beautiful images of African wildlife, people, and nature. Here are some of examples of his paintings and these weren't even my favorites. He is very talented and gifted. These are scans of pictures of his paintings. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to bring any of his work with him. The paintings are mainly oil paintings. We are hoping to connect him with some local organizations or artists that can help cultivate his talent.

Refugee Winter Care Campaign

2010-12-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

KRM needs your help to meets its Winter Care Campaign fundraising goals. This year the Lexington office resettled 287 refugees, our busiest year yet! As our refugee arrival numbers continue to rise, so does the financial need. Please help us reach our campaign goal by spreading the word. By visiting this site you can make donations or post information about the campaign on facebook, twitter, or linked-in. For non-facebook users, you can spread the word by email. Please check out information about the Refugee Winter Care Campaign at http://kyrm.org/refugeewintercare2010.html. We appreciate your support!

PS. If anyone donates to the campaign, please add Lexington beside your last name to help us separate the donations from the Louisville fund. Thanks!

Winter Happenings

2010-10-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, KRM clients are in need of winter weather clothing items such as coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. Donations would be greatly appreciated. You can drop them by the office located at 1206 N Limestone our hours are 9-4 but we take lunch from 12-1.

Addtionally, KRM is in the process of cordinating the pick up and delivery of Thanksgiving food baskets for our clients. We need drivers and volunteers to help us with this task on Monday November 22nd and Tuesday Novemember 23rd. If you are intrested in volunteering to help out with delivery please email Dabney Parker at dparker@krmlex.org.

Finally, KRM has once again designed holiday cards which we will be selling at various venues. The cards this year are really amazing. They feature some really nice photos of our refugees. They will be available in two formats one with holdiay message printed on the inside and one that is simply blank on the inside. If you are intersted in our holiday cards contact the office for more information at (859) 226- 5661.

World of Work--WOW!

2010-09-23T10:44:00.001-07:00

Kentucky Refugee Ministries has started new employment classes for refugee clients called World of Work or WOW classes. This an exciting new opportunity for refugees who are so eager to start working. The classes have been meeting for 2 weeks now and clients are learning how to search for jobs and fill out job applications. Future classes will include interview skills, job vocabulary, job retention skills, phone conversation skills, and much, much more!

WOW classes are very interactive and include skits, job modeling, role-playing and job readiness tasks. Each week refugee clients are asked to complete homework assignments and employment tasks. These tasks help clients learn skills and build confidence. In addition to WOW classes, KRM is now offering time in the onsite computer lab to help clients with employment classes.

Our goal is to better equip and prepare refugee clients to find and retain jobs. In this competitve job market, we aim to give them all possible tools and skills to help them succeed.

To organize and provide these classes, KRM needs volunteers to help refugee clients learn these job skills. Our goal is to have one volunteer for every three to five refugee clients per class. This would allow our classes to be interactive and tailored to clients' individual levels. Tasks would include helping clients complete job applications, helping them practice English, and participating in role playing activities. The WOW classes meet on Friday mornings from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the KRM office. There is also a need for volunteers to be available during the computer lab hours on Tuesday from 1:30-3:30 pm to help clients with resumes, applications and job searching. Please contact Dabney at krmlexington@gmail.com for more information.

It is very rewarding to help a refugee client through the employment process and watch them secure their first job and reach self-sufficiency. Please come and join us in this process!

We're Hiring!!!

2010-09-02T08:54:00.001-07:00

Kentucky Refugee Ministries is hiring a part time Special Medical Caseworker

Hours:
15-20 hours a week
M-F 4 hours a day (flexible depending on availability/appointments)

Responsibilities:
Volunteer coordination for appointments during unavailable hours
All special medical appointments- taking or coordination of volunteers
SSI disability applications and appointments
Help with other medical appointments as needed
Case notes
Communicate with caseworkers about medical situation
Interpersonal and in office communication
Coordination of interpreters

If interested please contact Barbara Kleine at BKleine@krmlex.org

Volunteers Needed!

2010-08-06T10:25:00.001-07:00

We are in need of ESL tutors for adults and youth. Ideally, tutors will meet with refugee clients once or twice a week to practice English. Adult clients will focus on employment skills and children will focus on school subjects. No previous ESL or teaching experience is necessary to volunteer as an ESL tutor. Working as an ESL tutor is a great way to build relationships with refugees and help them transition into their new life in Lexington. Please email (krmlexington@gmail.com) or call 226-5661 to make an appt. to fill out a volunteer application.

World Refugee Day

2010-06-18T12:57:00.001-07:00

KRM and friends will celebrate World Refugee Day on June 19th at Woodland Park from 12 pm to 3:30 pm. Friends of KRM are invited to come, but we request that each person bring a small dish of food and a chair so that we will have enough food and seats for everyone. There will also be some food provided, music, games, and art projects. We look forward to this fun event and hope you can be a part of the festivities. Here is an article in the Lexington Herald Leader about the event. http://www.kentucky.com/2010/06/17/1311022/refugees-forge-ahead-while-looking.html

We've Moved!

2010-06-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Our office moved from Maxwell St. to the second floor of Arlington Christian Church at the end of May 2010. Our new office space is more spacious and better equipped to deal with our growing number of clients. We now have a waiting area, a conference room, and desks for all of our employees. We're really happy with our new space and excited for everyone to visit us at our new location.

If you need to visit the office, please park behind the church. We now have plenty of parking, Yay! Please enter through the glass double doors and follow the signs up to the second floor. Our phone number has remained the same (859-226-5661). We look forward to continue serving refugees through our new and more spacious office.

Survey about Refugee Services

2010-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

Dear volunteers or community members working with refugees:

I am a researcher in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky, and I study issues related to literacy and English language education for refugees in the U.S. I have worked with refugees for the past seven years, and I am currently conducting a study to explore the educational opportunities (ESL and adult basic literacy courses and programs) available to refugees in the Lexington area. I am particularly interested in the constraints and affordances that may shape how refugees do, or do not, participate in available programs, as well as the types of training and support available for teachers and tutors. I hope that this study’s findings may be useful in understanding ways that our community can work together to provide good support for refugees and those who work with refugees. Your perspective on these issues will be very helpful in this endeavor.

If you would be willing to participate in the study by sharing your perspective, please contact me by email or phone (my contact information is below). I will send you a packet that includes a consent form and a questionnaire, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. I also would like to interview some of you to explore this topic and your responses in more depth, but this is optional. On the questionnaire form, there is a place to indicate whether you are willing to have me interview you. In addition, I am also interested in possibly observing some classes or tutoring sessions. Again, these observations are completely optional and voluntary. You can participate in this study by completing the questionnaire only, without participating in the interview or observations, or you can also agree to be interviewed and/or observed.

Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions at all, or if you would like more information before deciding whether or not to participate in this study, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Kristen H. Perry, Ph.D.
University of Kentucky
341 Dickey Hall
Lexington, KY 40506-0017
Phone: 859-257-3836
Email: kristen.perry@uky.edu

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

January is off to a busy start for KRM. We have a large group of new arrivals coming throughout the month (about 30 scheduled so far). It is a bit overwhelming to think about all of our 2010 clients when we have so many without jobs that arrived in 2009. Today I worked on a list of unemployed refugees and it was a long list. Most of these clients are ready and eager to work. They spend their days searching for an appropriate job match for their specific capabilities. We have professional clients with near fluent English (doctors, engineers, a veterinarian, computer tech, teachers, etc.) who need jobs, as well as clients with limited English looking for entry-level positions. There are also several clients who have specific skills (tailor, mason, mechanic, farmer, plumber, etc.).

They say that one of the best ways to find a job is by networking. So, KRM is asking for your help in finding jobs for our clients. If you know of anyone who is hiring, please let us know. If you read about a job in the newspaper or see a "For Hire" sign on a window, please call or email our office. We are interested in all ideas and thoughts about creative and traditional ways to help our clients find jobs and become self-sufficient. They are anxious to start working!

Call or email us about jobs at 226-5661 or krmlexington@gmail.com.

We also want to say thanks to all of the individuals, groups, churches and organizations that donated their time, money, and resources to help refugees in Lexington in 2009. With such a lack of jobs and high levels of unemployed refugees, there is an increased pressure on our office to help meet basic needs. Homelessness is a real threat for refugees and donations help refugees pay rent until they can become self-sufficient. Volunteers, Church Sponsors, and Community Supporters also help refugees meet clothing, educational, job preparation and housing needs. You truly make a difference in the lives of people who have seen extreme hardship. Thank you and we hope you will join us in 2010 to continue providing these necessary services to refugees in Lexington.

Separated

2009-12-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Beatrice, staff member of KRM, shares her story about her daughter Nancy who is still in the DRC. We all hope that Nancy will be in Kentucky very soon!

Read Story Here

A lot of Thanksgiving!

2009-12-15T14:04:00.001-08:00

This year KRM invited clients to share in a meal of Thanksgiving. Dishes from Iraq, DR Congo, Bhutan, and Kentucky graced the table. It was a time share stories, connect with old friends, and remember all there is to be thankful about in this world. These people who have experienced extreme hardship are often the most thankful!

2009-08-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here is an article from Tri Bikram Adhikari who is a refugee journalist who recently resettled in Lexington from Nepal. Tri is orignially from Bhutan and has great insight about political and refugee issues in this region. In this post, he shares about his arrival at Bluegrass Airport. Enjoy!

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“You Start Again”

When I landed in Bluegrass Airport of Lexington city of Kentucky state of USA in 3rd of July, I felt that I would be puzzled and lost along with my family in the complete new place. But this thought was removed from my mind when an American guy who was accompanying with me in the same plane assisted me to go in the direction where there was exit (in airport).By this, I came to know that many Americans are helpful and supportive. At the exit, my brother along with Karissha and Mallisha (case workers of Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM)) were giving us a warm welcome after noticing the IOM bag carried by us. The caseworkers in the first meeting were too helpful. With their pleasant smile and talks, they drove us to towards our new house.
My new house is completely different from the refugee slum where we stayed for sixteen years in Nepal. There are two bed rooms, sitting room, kitchen and two bathrooms. In particular, we are kept in an apartment where we should pay the rent. There are fifteen apartments in three storey building located in the residential area without any crowd, pollution and disturbances. In Kitchen, we have refrigerator, oven run by electricity and many other household and kitchen used items which we have not got in Nepal. In this context, I remember the bygone days about the refugee hut made up of bamboo, plastic, thatch and mud. It is to point out here that we were hardly served with products and vegetables with more vitamins by the agencies while remaining in the camp. I remember even the moment when we burn the briquette made of coal that used to produce lots of smoke which pollutes the environment and affects the health of the people and also the moment we repair the hut which was difficult and with hard labor. In times of rain and wind, it would be troublesome and difficult to take care of the hut. This all the difficulties are now kicked off as we are in a good house with a fine and suitable environment for housing. Even the vehicles run hither and thither in the streets, there is not much sound and air pollution here.
The main fact of this place it “Time is Money”. Without following time. There will be no penny in the wallet. Public buses are operated in time and follows time. If a bus is left, it will be late for work. Everybody here strictly follows the time. So that, they earn money. Another thing is that every people are conscious of their duties and responsibilities and also equally working for their rights. Everyone is on their own work and there will be a busy time. In this place, when I stepped in the transit centre of the bus named “Lextran”, I find many peoples who have arrived here from different parts of the world. There are African, Asian, European, Mexican, Korean,… people so that I discovered that this place is full of immigrants.
There are only fourteen Bhutanese families resettled here in Lexington city where I am residing. There are refugees from Iraq, Congo, Mexico, and other places also in my place. Peoples are from different refugee slums and are stepping ahead for learning American culture and starting a new life. The main intention of all the refugees is to cope up with this culture very soon. Everybody are asked to go English as a Second Language(ESL) class to improve English by KRM and every Bhutanese adults are going for that. Some Youths who want to learn more English are starting their new class of language in Bluegrass Community and Technical College(BCTC) where there will be one and half hours session for four days in a week. Every Friday, KRM also gives two hours Cultural Orientation classes on the new place for all the refugees for eight weeks after their arrival. Children under 18 have started their new session in the school from August 12. Many of the refugees are jobless due to economic recession in USA. Most of all refugees are searching for the jobs for their better future in USA.

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You can read more posts from Tri at his blog "The Unheard Voice."

World Refugee Day 2009

2009-06-25T10:36:00.001-07:00

On June 20th, KRM clients, staff, volunteers and community partners met at Woodland Park to celebrate World Refugee Day. Refugees from Iraq, Bhutan, DRC, and Republic of Congo joined together to express their gratitude and happiness. To celebrate, we ate an eclectic meal of different dishes from the represented countries. Sawyer's also donated chicken sandwiches to compliment the potluck side dishes. After eating, music, dancing and games ensued. Cornhole was a big hit that everyone enjoyed playing and watching. It was a great day and great way to build community among refugees and native Lextonians. Check out the pictures!

For Iraqis, Terror is Replaced by Financial Woe

2009-04-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

By Steve Lannen - slannen@herald-leader.com

Faced with ongoing war and death threats, millions of Iraqis fled their homeland in recent years. During the past 18 months, some Iraqi families have settled in Kentucky, and more continue to arrive every week or so.They come not only seeking refuge from the kidnappings and sectarian killings, but they bring with them the expectation of an America full of jobs and promise — the America that they have been told so much about.

Their arrival here, however, coincides with the massive economic recession, and their hopes for better lives in the United States are severely blunted by economic hardship. They stand among the thousands of Americans who are unemployed.

Some Iraqis have found part-time work or manual labor. But it's a far cry from their work back home as doctors, teachers or entrepreneurs. Plus, their lack of English skills and work experience in the United States forces them to start at the bottom with low-wage jobs. At least one returned to work in Iraq with the U.S. military as an interpreter and now sends money to his family in Lexington. They might be safer, but the Iraqis here have new worries.

They don't know how they will pay rent. And they wonder how they're going to feed their children.

In recent years, more than 95 percent of refugees were employed after four months in Lexington. In this recession, "that's just not realistic now," said Barbara Kleine, Kentucky Refugee Ministries director. "I think the expectation is once they got here, things would be better, and they're not."

Here are stories from a few of Lexington's Iraqi refugees.

___________________________________________________________

Raghad Abdul Majeed

The bullet left in the envelope outside Raghad Abdul Majeed's home was the sign.

Majeed's husband was already dead, carjacked and killed for his money in lawless Baghdad. Now this was a sign that Majeed's family was a target. They were Shias living in Dora, a no-longer-welcoming Sunni neighborhood.

It was time to go.

Months later, when it became clear she would move to the United States, Majeed attended an orientation meeting for refugees in Syria. It will be easy to find jobs in America, she was told.

Since her arrival last May, however, that has not been the case. Her professional training as an Arabic teacher didn't count for much here because she could not speak English. In the dreadful economy, she applied for jobs that didn't require language skills, but she encountered Americans with college degrees applying for the same work.

She landed a couple of odd jobs.

After a week as a hotel maid, she was fired for not working fast enough. Then, her temporary job at the Amazon.com shipping center stopped soon after the holidays were over.

"We had imagined America to be the safest place for our children and that it would be the best place to find a job. (But) the lack of a job is a kind of threat. It's not a safe situation if you don't have a job here," Majeed said.

Socially, Majeed has suffered, too. She left her parents behind in Iraq, and everyone in America is always busy. She and other Iraqi refugees in her apartment complex do their best to help one another — they share meals or advice on how to act with Americans.

"We have not adjusted to this life yet ... Each of us helps each other," she said.

When the initial money from Kentucky Refugee Ministries ran out, food stamps paid for meager groceries. Walnut Hill Church paid her phone bill and utilities. Still, it didn't alleviate her frustration.

Majeed, 34, yearns to work in a school again to teach Arabic and earn a paycheck big enough to support her two daughters.

Sometimes she visits Cassidy Elementary, where her youngest daughter attends, to use the Internet. She visits teachers, hoping they could one day work together.

For now, that dream is replaced by the need to hold a job — any job that will pay the rent and monthly expenses.

Majeed recently began working full-time at a retirement home, doing laundry and other chores as she cares for the elderly.

"It's not just my problem. It's the problem of all the Iraqi families here," she said. "If someone told me these are the obstacles I would find in America, I wouldn't have come ... I would return to Iraq."
__________________________________________________________________________

Subbhi Abbas Ali

Each weekday, 64-year-old Subbhi Abbas Ali rises at 5 a.m., takes two LexTran buses to Goodwill on New Circle Road and then rides with his boss to the tack-and-leather shop on Paris Pike.

As horses trot nearby, he sits at one of two machines used to cut and stitch leather.

Ali earns $9 an hour, toiling on a machine that is not unlike the one he remembers in Baghdad. However, in Iraq, there were 40 machines in the factory — and he was the factory's owner.

Ali's decision to move his family to the United States began when he was kidnapped in Baghdad more than two years ago.

Militia members loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came to Ali's home looking for money, he said. They would get it by asking for ransom. They threw a hood over Ali's face, put him in a car and drove him to the northern town of Husseiniya on Baghdad's outskirts.

For four days, Ali was held blindfolded. He recalls being drugged. Ali thinks the pills caused hallucinations and made him more compliant to his captors. When he was told to call his family, he recalled saying, "Just give them what they need. Give them money. Give them cars. Just give them what they want so they let me go."

They did.

Ali's captors released him with the order to "just leave everything." If he ever opened his business again, they vowed to bomb it.

So now, instead of fashionable women's shoes and red leather purses, Ali makes custom leather bridles and bits for horses. The business trips to Germany and Hong Kong are no more. He makes trips to the grocery store and returns to a two-bedroom apartment off Richmond Road, rather than three houses and a farm in the Iraqi countryside.

Ali's family lived for more than a year in Syria, relying on the support of a relative. Then, in July, they landed in Lexington. It took nearly six months for him to find work.

Several days a week, he and his wife, Aaeda Ibrihm, struggle through English lessons. He carries a vocabulary list with him at work to better understand what is asked of him.

Despite the torture and loss he endured, he said it is his "good luck" to live in the United States. His younger son and two daughters live with him; two daughters remain in Iraq, and his oldest son is in Syria.

"I love to study, but now I am an old man," he said. "The thought is for my children."

All he wants is for his oldest son and his family to receive a visa to come live with him. Ali is fearful that his son — even though he is in Syria — could be targeted by the same people who kidnapped him.

"When I work," Ali said, "it's him I think about."

_____________________________________________________________________

Akkram Kareem

In Baghdad, Akkram Kareem managed a jewelry store. For this, people assumed he had a lot of money.

So he tried to hide his job as best he could.

He altered his route to work. He took public transportation instead of driving his car. He even moved to a different house in the neighborhood when he was sure his secret was out.

In a country without laws and full of desperate people, he was a marked man.

"We didn't know who was our enemy," Kareem recalled.

In early 2006, armed men came to his home looking for him.

He wasn't there, but his grown nephew was.

There were two gunshots — one hit Kareem's nephew in the leg.

When Kareem came home, he found his injured nephew. He took him to the hospital. While Kareem and his nephew were away, the men returned to the house and roughed up his wife and mother. They demanded that his wife call Kareem's cell phone.

"Give us your money, or we will kill all of your family," they said.

Kareem says he gathered the gold that was in the shop, about a kilogram, and melted it down. It was worth about $40,000. He arranged for it to be delivered to an outdoor market, as instructed. Leave Iraq or die, were the last instructions.

He fled with his wife, son and daughter to neighboring Syria in February 2006.

Australia was where he hoped to settle his family, but he was offered a place in the United States.

"Anywhere besides Iraq. I just want to be in a safe place," he replied.

The four of them, plus an infant daughter, arrived in Lexington on July 24.

Here, there is cool weather, electricity and water that runs on cue. Kareem's children can play outside and take a bus to Cassidy Elementary School.

"It's much better than I thought it would be," he said.

But Kareem's forehead furrows when asked about money. For three months, the rent and utilities were paid, but that ended months ago. Local churches have helped pay some of the bills since.

He knows he is expected to get a job to pay for it all, but nothing has panned out.

Iraqis who were in Lexington several months before him still don't have jobs, he said.

"How will I get a job to continue this beautiful life?" he asks.

___________________________________________________________________

By the numbers

■ About 14,000 Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States in 2008, which remains a small fraction of the millions displaced by ongoing war and sectarian violence in Iraq.

■ Since September 1997, about 350 Iraqis have settled in Kentucky. The largest number, about 220, are in Louisville, followed by Lexington and Bowling Green, according to statistics kept by the Kentucky Office for Refugees at Catholic Charities in Louisville. About 50 have settled in Lexington. Thirty more are expected to arrive in the coming months.

■ The placement of nearly all refugees who arrive in Lexington is handled by Kentucky Refugee Ministries, one of about 350 volunteer agencies nationwide contracted with the U.S. State Department to coordinate refugee housing and settlement. Initially, a few hundred dollars from the State Department plus food stamps and donations from churches are cobbled together to fund a refugee household, but the expectation is that the family will be self-supporting within a few months.

How you can help

Contact Kentucky Refugee Ministries, 201 East Maxwell Street, Lexington, Ky. 40508; (859) 226-5661.

A Beautiful Reunion

2009-03-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Losi Grodya has been separated from her daughters for the past six years. This week they will finally arrive in Lexington to be reunited with their mother and start a new life. You may remember Losi from an Lexington Herald-Leader article written in October. This article was written to raise awareness about Losi's situation.

Losi is a refugee from the Congo who now has American citzenship. Over six years ago in the Congo, Losi and her son went to the market to buy some food. While they were shopping, their village was attacked by rebels. Losi and her son had to flee thus separting Losi from her daughters who had stayed at home. After Losi arrived in Lexington, she was able to find out what happened to her daughters and to discover their location.

Losi applied for her children to join her in America, but for no explainable reason, the applications kept getting denied. Year after year, Losi kept waiting to see her children again. Finally that day is coming! We are so happy for Losi and her daughters to be reunited. Thank you to all the people who helped make this reunion possible!

Lexington's First Monthly Social Innovation Forum

2009-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

KRM wants to pass along info about an event this Thrusday. It is the
Lexington's First Monthly Social Innovation Forum and KRM will give a small presentation and have booth set up for people to learn more about our organization.

The forum will also feature the creators of the Academy Award Nominee War Dance,
Sean and Andrea Fine, and an escaped child soldier, Dominic.

The event is on Thursday, March 26th at 6:00 pm at the Old Tarr
Distillery on 899 Manchester St.

Everyone is welcome and entry is
free, but they ask that people please RSVP to ncryder@gmail.com.

Here is a link to a flier about the event. http://www.globalgain.org/WarDance_forWeb4.pdf

MLK, Jr. Day 2009

2009-01-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Kentucky Refugee Minstries is participating in the MLK, Jr. Service Day.

KRM will be open from 10 am to 7 pm to host a "Welcome Home" fundraiser for newly arrived refugees. We will accept the following items to warmly greet clients by furnishing their apartments with the following items. Please only donate new or gently used items.

1. Pots and Pans
2. Can Openers
3. Cutting Knives
4. Silverware
5. Broom & Dustpan
6. Mop & Bucket
7. Unused Cleaning Supply Items (washing detergent, all purpose cleaner, dish soap, sponges, etc.)
8. Trash Cans
9. Alarm Clocks
10. Umbrellas
11. Unused Toiletry Items (soap, shampoo, deodarant, toothpaste, lotion, etc.)
12. Iron and Ironing Board
13. Vacuum cleaners
14. Booster seats & Car seats
15. Technology Items (radio, computer, TV) *Only if they work.
16. Linens and Towels

We do not accept any clothing due to limited space, but you can donate clothing items to Goodwill and ask that Kentucky Refugee Ministries receive the credit. This allows new refugee clients to pick out clothes that are their size when they first arrive and credit our account.

The above items are listed in order of priority. The higher the item, the more we need it.

Thank you in advance for any donations you can provide!

Also don't forgot about the Volunteer Workshop on January 27th at 6:00 pm. It will be held at the Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church and should last about an hour. The topic will be "Respecting Culture" and former refugees will share information about their own culture as well as "DOs and DON'Ts". Please RSVP to krmlexington@gmail.com by Friday, January 23rd to reserve a spot. Hope to see you there!

KRM welcomes new Bhutanese Refugees

2008-12-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks KRM Lexington is welcoming our first refugees from Bhutan. These refugees were forced to leave Bhutan in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Since then, they have lived in refugees camps in Nepal. The international community was reluctant to resettle the Bhutanese refugees because they wanted to pressure Bhutan into letting them return. Almost 20 years have passed and Bhutan is unwilling to accept the refugees. The international community is now resettling the Bhutanese refugees into third countries like the US.

Most of the Bhutanese refugees speak Nepali and Lexington is home to 300+ Nepali speakers. The Nepali community in Lexington is excited to help the Bhutanese transition to life in KY. We expect to continue to resettle Bhutanese refugees throughout 2009. If you are interested in working with Bhutanese refugees, please contact our office.

Also visit this great website to find out more information about Bhutanese refugees.

http://www.bhutaneserefugees.com/

Conflict in Eastern Congo

2008-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Check out this clip about Eastern Congo at http://blog.theirc.org/2008/12/05/one-family-caught-up-in-congos-crisis-video/

This week the PBS show Worldfocus aired a story that featured the International Rescue Committee’s work assisting families displaced by the crisis in North Kivu, Congo. Reporter Michael J. Kavanagh met Pascal and Vestine, a young teacher and his wife, and their newborn daughter in a refugee camp. Watch their story and read more about the conflict in Kavanagh’s companion piece — and learn what happened when Kavanagh and his crew were detained by Congo’s secret police.

KRM is currently resettling refugees from the Congo. If you would like information about how you can help Congolese people in Lexington, please contact us for more information.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

On November 24th KRM and volunteers deliverd 27 Thanksgiving baskets to all the refugees who arrived within the last year. The delivery efforts were relatively smooth and efficient thanks to all the great volunteer help we received. That morning we picked up the baskets from God's Pantry and divided up the boxes and food. Each family got a 14lb. turkey--a type of meat that most weren't familiar with. We included cooking preparation insturctions in all the boxes and most families said they really enjoyed the turkey. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped deliver Thanksgiving Baskets to our clients for their FIRST EVER Thanksgiving holiday!

Now KRM is preparing for the Christmas holiday and winter weather. We have been distributing winter clothes, long underwear, coats, scarves, socks, hats and gloves to new clients. Many people aren't used to the cold weather so it has been a difficult transition. Katie Weber (the Youth Services Coordinator) is organizing a Christmas Giving Project. If you are interested in buying toys or gifts for families and children, please let her know by emailing ccweber2@yahoo.com.

We also have developed a Christmas Fundraising Project. With any donation to KRM, you can receive complimentary Holiday cards. The front cover is the picture of the dove and world (shown below). Above the picture is the font, "Spreading Peace." The inside text of the card reads "Encourgaing Hope.....In your honor, a gift has been donated to Kentucky Refugee Ministries. Your gift to KRM will make a difference to those refugees who seek a new life in our community." We also include our contact information on the back of the card. You can send them out as your personal Christmas card or it is also a great gift idea for those who don't want a present for themselves. The money will be used to pay rent for newly arrived unemployed refugees and help meet the needs of our newest clients. If you are interested in making a donation, please call, email or mail us your request. The Christmas cards cost about $2 for our office so please keep that in mind when you make your request. In other words, don't request more cards than your donation covers. :-)

KRM hopes everyone has a Merry Holiday Wishes. Thank you for all your kindess and support!

Contact Info for Christmas Cards:
Kentucky Refugee Ministries
201 E. Maxwell St.
Lexington, KY 40508
krmlexington@gmail.com
859-226-5661
859-255-0303

KRM Volunteer Update

2008-10-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

After our big rush of arrivals in September, things are finally settling down now. We have helped everyone to get their initial appointments, start English classes, and attend resettlement orientation. The next focus is finding jobs so please let me know of any employment opportunities available in Lexington.

On November 24 (the Monday before Thanksgiving), KRM will need volunteers to help deliver Thanksgiving baskets. We will be assigned a time to pick up the baskets from God's Pantry Warehouse in the morning and will spend the day distributing the baskets. We have 27 baskets to distribute to refugee families, but we will also need to spend time explaining how to cook the Thanksgiving items. If you are tutoring a family, it would be great if you could incorporate this into your lessons. If you are interested in participating, please email amanda.mullikin@gmail.com.

We are also going to be printing Christmas greeting cards this year as a fundraiser. If you give a donation to KRM, we will send you a designated amount of Christmas Cards. The cards cost about $2 to make so please make sure your donation is more than the cost of the cards you request. Spend your money wisely and support a good cause while also buying all your Christmas cards. If you are interested, please send me an email (amanda.mullikin@gmail.com).

I want to take time and say thank you to all our volunteers and all the work that you do. THANK YOU!

Amanda Mullikin
KRM Lexington
Adult Services Coord.

KRM Volunteer Training Opportunity

2008-10-15T09:57:00.001-07:00

KRM is hosting an ESL workshop for our English tutors.

Date: Tuesday, October 21st

Time: 6:00 pm

Location: Maxwell St. Presbyterian Church

Agenda: Learn more about ESL teaching methodology (what works and what doesn't), discuss new ideas and resources, and share your experiences with the group.

Instructors: Carolyn Hackworth, Carnegie Center ESL Teacher & Dr. Kristen Perry, UK Professor & KRM Volunteer ESL Teacher.

Contact: Amanda Mullikin at 255-0303 if you are interested in attending.

KRM Fundraiser--Screening of "The Ordinary Radicals"

2008-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

One Horizon is graciously hosting a fundraiser for KY Refugee Ministries.

Date: Thursday, October 16th
Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Location: KY Theatre in Lexington
Cost: Tickets are $ 7.50

Program: Screening of "The Ordinary Radicals" by Jamie Moffett, KRM Director Barbara Kleine will speak about what's going on in the refugee community in Lexington and how you can get involved, then Director Jamie Moffett will host a Q&A session.

100% of the proceeds will go to KRM. Please come show your support.
http://www.theordinaryradicals.com/

Movie Info: In the margins of the United States, there lives a revolutionary Christianity. One with a quiet disposition that seeks to do "small things with great love," and in so doing is breaking 21st Century stereotypes surrounding this 2000 year old faith. "The Ordinary Radicals" is set against the modern American political and social backdrop of the next Great Awakening. Traveling across the United States on a tour to promote the book "Jesus for President", Shane Claiborne and a rag-tag group of "ordinary radicals" interpret Biblical history and its correlation with the current state of American politics. Sharing a relevant outlook for people with all faith perspectives, director Jamie Moffett examines this growing movement. As Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw write in the book, "This is not a set of political suggestions for the world; this is about invoking and embodying the alternative. All of this is an invitation to join a peculiar people- those with no king but God, who practice jubilee economics and make the world new. This is not the old-time religion of going to heaven; this is about bringing heaven to the world." Featuring Interviews with: Becky Garrison, Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, John Perkins, Brooke Sexton, Michael Heneise, St. Margret Mckenna, Logan Laituri, Zack Exley, Aaron Weiss and many more Ordinary Radicals.

Torn Apart by War, Kept Apart by Suspicion

2008-10-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

By Steve Lannen
slannen@herald-leader.com

Losi Grodya works two jobs, has a driver's license, is working on a community college degree and is readying to take her U.S. citizenship exam.

Despite all she has accomplished since settling in Lexington as a refugee from her native Democratic Republic of Congo nearly six years ago, she feels helpless when she talks on the phone with her daughters. Their home has been a Rwandan refugee camp for the past four years.

”They ask me when they are coming. Why is it taking so long? They tell me since I am in America, I must be able to do something to get them to come, but I've tried everything I can,“ Grodya said. ”I just want them to come here so we can all be together again. ... But I can't even do that.“

Her daughters, who as of late January were approved by U.S. officials to join her in Lexington as refugees, have seen their cases caught up in a post-9/11 provision in the Patriot Act that bars people from entering the United States if suspected of aiding a terrorist group.

Known as the material support bar, the law was also at the center of a high-profile case in April in which a Transylvania University student faced deportation to his native Sudan. Authorities said that because Lino Nakwa was kidnapped as a 12-year-old and spent a month in the training camp of a rebel group considered terrorists by the U.S. government, he was ineligible for a green card.

After a letter-writing campaign and intervention by Kentucky elected officials in Washington, Nakwa's case is waiting to be reviewed by Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

After months of delay, Grodya learned last week that her daughters are suspected of providing material support to a terrorist group. But she doesn't know precisely what they are suspected of doing.

Grodya's five daughters have shared stories not of complicity, but of kidnapping and rape in a country torn apart by decadelong conflict, she said. She fears they have not told her the worst, but that what they have said ”is now being turned against them.“

”We never took part in any of those conflicts. We just wanted to go somewhere where we would live in peace. We didn't want to fight nobody. We never killed,“ Grodya said Wednesday during an interview at the Kentucky Refugee Ministries.

War inside Congo began a decade ago and involved eight nations and multiple armed groups. As the country's security and stability deteriorated, tribal conflicts within the war also broke out, including one largely over land between the Hema and the Lendu in northeastern Congo. The conflict worsened with meddling by the nearby Ugandan army. Large numbers of men, women and children were massacred.

”Lendu were coming and using a strategy to scare you, and if you left they would take everything. If you stayed, they would kill you,“ said Grodya, an ethnic Hema.

In February 2001, she fled her hometown of Bunia with her children to live with her father in nearby Mahagi. After leaving she learned that her husband, who stayed behind, had been killed later that day.

The violence followed her.

Grodya and her then-young son, Olivier, went to the market to look for food. The family had not eaten for two days. She left her daughters at home.

Big guns from the rebel groups thundered in the distance. Word spread that the Lendu were at the airport and moving toward town. Panic set in and everyone scattered.

It was too dangerous for Grodya to return home.

Grodya heard many people from Bunia and Mahagi had fled to Uganda so she went there to look for her family, but she didn't find them. From there she went to a refugee camp in nearby Rwanda.

She asked to cross back into Congo to look for her daughters, but the Red Cross and United Nations High Commission on Refugees staff wouldn't allow her to return because the war was still raging.

For two years she and her son stayed in Rwanda, but she had no contact with her other children.

”I didn't have any news about my family. I wanted to go to see if they were alive or not. They said no, I can't,“ she recalled.

It wasn't until 2003, after she arrived in Lexington as a refugee, that she was able to acquire a cellular phone and contact her daughters. Her sister in Rwanda found relatives back home who said some of her children were back in Bunia, taken in by some Jehovah's Witnesses.

But she also learned of horrors.

She learned one of her daughters had been kidnapped at the age of 14 by rebels and forced to serve as a soldier. She eventually escaped during a training exercise in the bush.

Another daughter was taken by a Hema rebel soldier, who impregnated her when she was 18. ”It wasn't her choice. She was raped,“ Grodya said.

She still doesn't know the extent of what happened to all of her daughters. The younger ones ”don't want to tell me everything that happened. There are many things they don't want to talk about,“ Grodya said.

Many people have been caught up in similar cases due to the material support bar, said Kerri Talbot, associate director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, D.C.

A law was passed in December to grant immigration officials more discretion in applying the material support provision.

Still, ”there are many cases where people by no means would be considered a terrorist by a layperson, but because the law was so overly broad they were caught up in that definition and unable to immigrate to the States,“ Talbot said.

Rep. Ben Chandler's office has become aware of Grodya's case. A Chandler spokeswoman said the office is looking at ways it can help.

An e-mail provided to the Herald-Leader by Grodya showed that a Chandler constituent-services representative received a vague response from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, saying the cases are ”on hold pending a more detailed legislative definition of material support of a terrorist organization.“

That means the USCIS office in Kenya is waiting for the USCIS office in Washington to tell it how to apply the law.

USCIS in Washington ”should basically get it together and apply that law fairly and allow people to immigrate to the United States if they have a case they have already proven and are not guilty of any wrongdoing,“ Talbot said.

A spokeswoman with the USCIS said Friday that she could not discuss specific cases, citing privacy issues.

Grodya still doesn't know exactly what evidence the government has to suspect her daughters of aiding terrorist groups.

”They're not criminals. They have nothing to do with them. They were victims of all this stuff and now they are going to punish them,“ she said.

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Reach Steve Lannen at (859) 231-1328 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1328.

*KRM is still working to help reunite the family.