REFUGEE SUPPORT

In Collaboration with Catholic Social Services---Local Representative of the UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees

Purpose



The Refugee Subcommittee is a small group whose mission is to help refugee families or victims of national or international disasters grow toward independence. We provide support which can include housing, furniture, jobs, school, transportation, education, health and,  if needed,  emergency financial help. We have also helped families learn English. 

We are always looking for new members who want to reach out to a family who needs a country in which they can be free from fear to start their lives over. From this experience our congregants learn from our refugees and evacuees. We learn about the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of hope in a troubled world. We learn that service enriches our spiritual journeys. We learn to appreciate the great diversity of cultures that share this planet. 



Background

First Unitarian Church has a long history of helping to resettle refugees. We helped World War II refugees.

In June of 1999 we sponsored a young Kosovo refugee family who had escaped the violence of the Kosovo war. The family consisted of a newly married husband and wife and the husband's cousin. For the first month, they lived in a congregant's home while the committee helped them learn English, get medical needs covered, find employment and furnish an apartment. We supported them through their first year and continue to have warm and caring relationships with them and their extended families. We take great pride in seeing them live independent and purposeful lives. 
First Church also reached out to the other Kosovo families in greater Cincinnati by providing social suppers and games for them to come together to support each other.



In Spring of 2003 we co-sponsored a refugee family from Sudan who had escaped the violence of the civil war. The family consisted of a husband, wife, son, and two daughters. Our co-sponsor was the Carmel Presbyterian Church in Avondale. For the first month the family lived in the home of congregants while the Task Force helped with them with all of the basic needs. Extra efforts were made to provide educational tutoring for the students and to provide them with summer recreation opportunities and sport outlets. We continue to have warm and caring relationships with them and their extended family. We take great pride in seeing them live independent and purposeful lives. First Church has also reached out to the Greater Cincinnati Sudanese Community by bringing them all together for supper and games so they might be supportive of each other.



In the late summer of 2005 we agreed to support, briefly, an evacuee from Hurricane Katrina who came to Cincinnati. We have helped him find a job, get clothes and furniture, get medical help, provided transportation for a couple of months, and bought him groceries. He needed ongoing support which we gave through January 2006. 


Current Activity

At this time, we continue to be friends and helpers to our Kosovo and our Sudanese refugee families.

Contact       Jan Smith    923-2137     jandandcarol@fuse.net