North Vancouver Deanery Karen Refugee Sponsorship.

To mark the 50th Anniversary of PWRDF* our North Shore Deanery has agreed to sponsor two Karen Refugee families from a camp on the Thai/Myanmar border.

This is a year long commitment to provide practical and financial assistance. We are being aided by members of the Diocesan PWRDF and Refugee committees and about $8,000 of the funding required is being provided by PWRDF and the Canadian Government. We will also be looking for some support from other parishes in the Diocese.

Both are families of three - one with a son, the other has a daughter. The children are 15 months old and the families have relatives in the Vancouver area.

Contact with these relatives is just now being made to establish a clearer picture of settlement requirements. The families are likely to arrive at short notice before mid-July 2009!

Some immediate needs:

• We need someone to act as co-ordinator and key contact person for one of the families. This person will work alongside an existing well experienced volunteer involved with the other family. These two people will be supported by many volunteers dealing with specific activities such as housing, shopping, transportation, etc.
• In addition we are seeking individuals with interests or knowledge in providing support and assistance in the following specific areas:
  • Setting-up and furnishing small one-bedroom apartments.
  • Shopping, budgeting and money matters - providing assistance and guidance to the families to familiarize themselves with Canadian ways.
  • Transportation - to assist families get to know the bus system and how to get around the city.
  • Health - to guide and help obtain medical and dental assistance

These needs are fairly urgent and if you can help you are requested to contact Chris Trendell right away at 604-987-0372.

* Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, our Canadian National Anglican organisation. See pwrdf.org for more information.

Please mark any contributions for "the Karen Refugees".

Thank you all.

Background:   Mae La Camp Mae La children at mission school With a population of nearly 50,000, the Mae La camp is the largest of the 9 camps along the Thai-Burma border.   The Karen people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia enduring an ethnic cleansing program in eastern Burma. The result is between 500,000 to 1 million Karen people living in hiding within Burma. In addition, a series of nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border house some 155,000 mostly Karen refugees. Thousands more live in refugee-like situations in Thailand and Burma, and millions of other Burmese from a variety of ethnic groups seek refuge and a way to make a living in surrounding countries. No end to the difficulties is in sight for Karen refugees, so governments around the world are beginning to accept Karen people from the camps in Thailand for resettlement. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_people Wikipedia description of the Karen People http://www.karenpeople.org/ The Karen People http://www.khrg.org/ Karen Human Rights Group