Make a Refugee Relief Kit An event in honor of World Refugee Day
Thursday June 17, 4-7:00 pm First United Methodist Church, Eugene OR
Life in a refugee camp is incredibly difficult. Shelters are overcrowded, conditions are squalid, and safety is threatened by nationalist groups. Refugees also live in urban environments in abandoned or unfinished buildings with few resources and no support. From our homes in Lane County, the suffering of people in these conditions is almost impossible to imagine.
UN World Refugee Day has been observed in June each year since 2001 to honor the courage, strength, and determination of people forced to flee their homelands because of natural disasters, conflict, and violence. In Lane County, World Refugee Day has been sponsored by the Refugee Resettlement Coalition of Lane County (RRC).
This year—because of COVID 19 restrictions—we cannot celebrate World Refugee Day as we have in the past, with an event including food, music and activities to celebrate the refugees who have settled in our community. Instead, we’ll meet safely outside to assemble relief kits for refugee families. Our goal is to put together 100 kits that include bath towels, toothbrushes, combs, soap and other hygiene items. The kits will be delivered to camps and cities worldwide by Mennonite Central Committee, a non-profit organization that provides aid throughout the world.
Can't attend but want to help? Send a check made out to Eugene Mennonite Church, with "relief kits" in memo line, to Eugene Mennonite Church, 3590 W 18th, Eugene, OR 97402. Receipt for tax-deductible donation will be provided on request.
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Being willing to help a refugee means so much, that you are taking time and making the effort. I encourage you to help them feel like they are survivors, not victims. Don't mention the war; don't remind them of where they are now in their lives. Just introduce yourself and be curious about them. Ask them questions about themselves as you would with anyone who decided to move to your community, instead of having been forced to move. We seek a sense of normalcy, as well as a new start.
Nujeen Mustafa, November 2020 RRC fundraiser, Welcoming Our New Neighbors Nujeen fled Syria in 2013 during the war and has resettled in Germany. She was the keynote speaker at our 2020 virtual annual fundraising event,
OUR MISSION Mobilize the community to welcome and support refugees and asylum seekers, fostering their well-being and self-sufficiency.
