RESPECT e-Zine| ISSN 1710-6931 | November 26, 2004 | Issue 35 |
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FEATURE ARTICLES
2004-2005 Poster ContestRESPECT international is kicking off its 2004-2005 Poster Contest by having students worldwide brainstorm the theme. Once the theme is selected, students will create drawings or paintings based on the theme. You can send your theme suggestions, no later than 15 December 2004, to Poster Contest Coordinator Anim Haroom at postercontest@respectrefugees.org. Or you can send your suggestion to:
RESPECT Tanzania Working to Access CampsIn the last few days, a very intensive exchange of mails and information has taken place between RESPECT International and RESPECT Tanzania's coordinator, Ms. Kaanaeli Kaale in order to apply to work in Tanzania's refugee camps. At the request of Ms. Kaanaeli, RESPECT has produced a set of letters to be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs in Dar es Salaam in order to gain access to those camps. more>> Africa and Its ChildrenOn Sunday, 21 November 2004, the Boston Globe began a three day series of articles entitled Africa and Its Children. Globe reporter John Donnelly and photographer Dominic Chavez spent several weeks in Uganda, Nigeria, and Swaziland interviewing and photographing the lives of three children. more>> AFFILIATES
Unite for Sight Teams With RESPECT TanzaniaRESPECT Tanzania's coordinator, Ms. Kaanaeli Kaale is working with Unite for Sight Founder, President and CEO, Jennifer Staple to implement eye health programs both in the refugee camps and in the surrounding villages. The primary goal of Unite For Sight's Tanzania Refugee Camp Program will be to empower the local community to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness. Unite For Sight volunteers will screen the children for treatable eye conditions, including refractive error, congenital cataracts, xerophthalmia, trachoma, river blindness, and conjunctivitis, and coordinate and fund their care by ophthalmologists at the closest eye clinic. Unite For Sight will also screen for eye disease and operable cataracts among the adult population and coordinate and fund their eye care. |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Get Well Soon!Samuel K. Boateng of Mohomou Refugee School has been recuperating from illness in Conakry, Guinea. All of us at RESPECT International wish him a speedy recovery! Well wishes can be sent to: guinea@respectrefugees.org. Letter Exchange ProgramRESPECT has received letters from refugee students in Nigeria, Northern Uganda and Guinea. We also received a package of letters from refugee students in Guinea intended for students in Australia. If you are interested in starting a new letter exchange, non-refugee schools can complete the Sponsor School Form, refugee schools can complete the Refugee School Form, or you can email us at respect@respectrefugees.org! RESPECT Board MeetingRESPECT is planning our next board meeting for early January, 2005. Please forward any of your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and compliments to marc@respectrefugees.org for inclusion. French Letter Exchange Hits Financial RoadblockThe French letter exchange with refugees from Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was a little bit jammed for a while recently because of excessive taxes and fees at the Bujumbura post office. Apparently many of the non-refugee teachers were not well enough informed about the importance of international reply coupons to help refugee to pay their postage. The replies and first letters were stuck in Burundi instead of flying to the non-refugee schools in France, Canada, Russia and Brazil. The problem has been ironed out for now and we are working to obtain grants and raise funds to try to avoid this kind of situation again. Letters and replies were sent from Bujumbura last week and will arrive by the end of the year. New letter exchanges in French will take place soon. M. Bilombele Asukulu, Director of the New English Center for Hope (NECH), is working with Ms. Kaanaeli Kaale, Country Coordinator of RESPECT Tanzania. An exchange with letters from about 30 students from NECH will be set up soon. Other leads are being explored especially with Guinea French speaking refugees. Thank to everyone for your patience, understanding, and dedication. All non-refugee students will have pen pals soon and more refugee students will have the opportunity to break their isolation through the letter exchange. As in any newsletter or magazine, RESPECT e-zine is committed to striving for interesting articles and announcements concerning refugee issues all around the world. If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute an article, contact the e-Zine editor, Will Wallace at editor@respectrefugees.org. To be removed from our mailing list, please complete the online form at: subscriptions.respectrefugees.org. |
