ISSN 1710-6931 January 11, 2008 Issue 116
FEATURE ARTICLES

RESPECT Guinea Continues To Grow Amidst Challenges

by Alex Adjei

Greetings and Happy New Year!

The year 2007 saw, for the first time, RESPECT Guinea growing very large in number and was full of activities.

RESPECT Guinea and, in particular, Mohomou Community Refugee School undertook two giant projects: a garden and the introduction of RESPECT Vocational school. This school became necessary due to the influx of refugees from the various camps that were closed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The school currently enrolls 600 high school graduates doing Professional English, Business Management and Accounting, and Computer Literacy. It will interest you to know that I was chosen by the community to became the Director of the school. RESPECT Guinea

French Programs Gaining Strength

by Sandrine Cortet

RESPECT International's French programs in 2006-2007 attracted more than 300 refugee and non-refugee pen pals based in Canada, France, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania.

Among the non-refugees, five teachers have been involved in the program for several years, which means a lot to me because they are satisfied with the program and are happy to come back to RESPECT the next year with their new students.

Some French pen pals were homeschoolers who took part in individual letter exchanges. Sadly the exchanges with DRC slowed down due to material and context issues, especially since Dieudonné Amisi Mutambala, former DRC co-coordinator, quit due to persecution in his country, and for the safety and protection of his family. French Programs

RESPECT University On Expansion Drive

by Ashok Pillai

RESPECT University (RU) began the year with an aim to complete at least one course through correspondence and we managed to complete two courses successfully and three are nearing completion.

However, our failure to continue our courses in one of our major affiliates prompted us to take up a major program to create awareness among the academic community and refugee organisations, and to encourage more people and organisations to promote and support our cause.

A drive to strengthen existing infrastructure of affiliates where our courses have come to a standstill has been initiated and is picking up pace. RESPECT University

AFFILIATES

Working To Empower Generates Awareness

by Ramesh Negi

Started just three years ago, Working to Empower (WTE) has been doing commendable work in the field of HIV/AIDS education. Logan Cochrane, the man behind the venture, realized the need for reaching out to such people and groups to generate more awareness about the deadly disease.

Working without any office, staff, vehicle or funds, WTE has been serving the society in five African nations: Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

It is worthwhile to mention that at the age of 20 years when young people prefer to hang out with friends and plan for a career, Logan Cochrane started thinking about innovative methods for HIV/AIDS education.

Organizations such as the Stephen Lewis Foundation and ACDA (Agoro Community Development Association) have proved to be reliable partners in this mission.

WTE is attempting to provide trained peer educators for the purpose of sustainable, locally-driven and community-requested projects. It aims to be culturally appropriate and socially acceptable in all of its actions while working in partnership with community-based organizations. Working To Empower

PHOTO GALLERY

Logan Cochrane

Logan Cochrane, founder of Working to Empower (WTE), ran projects in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps of Northern Uganda during 2007. While there in 2006 the security situation was horrible and he was advised to leave by 2 p.m. daily for fear of rebel attacks and abductions.

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, Angela Carter, at editor@respectrefugees.org.

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