EMPOWER REFUGEES
Be The One To Empower Refugees…
Be The One To Empower Refugees…
Dear readers,
If conflict threatened your family, what would you do? Stay and risk your lives? Or try to flee, and risk kidnap, rape or torture? For many refugees the choice is between the horrific or something worse. No one chooses to be a refugee.
It’s World Refugee Day on 20 June. And on this day, each year, UNHCR shines a light on the courage and perseverance of refugees.
MINOR MARRIAGES…
by Children at Risk team
This year we imagine that you are a 14 year old refugee, living in Ampang with your partner, working hard in a restaurant. Since your marriage, you have no time or money to continue school. Your sister, who is 16, lives nearby with her husband. She just had a baby and is
having a difficult time financially. You and your partner want children but you cannot afford the cost for food, clothes and school. What do you do?
In Malaysia, many refugee youths, both married and unmarried, face similar dilemmas daily. Family planning can then courage you to think about the dilemmas faced by victims of conflict or persecution and ask yourself
If conflict threatened your family, what would you do? Stay and risk your lives? Or try to flee, and risk kidnap, rape or torture? For many refugees the choice is between the horrific or something worse. No one chooses to be a refugee.
It’s World Refugee Day on 20 June. And on this day, each year, UNHCR shines a light on the courage and perseverance of refugees.
MINOR MARRIAGES…
by Children at Risk team
This year we imagine that you are a 14 year old refugee, living in Ampang with your partner, working hard in a restaurant. Since your marriage, you have no time or money to continue school. Your sister, who is 16, lives nearby with her husband. She just had a baby and is
having a difficult time financially. You and your partner want children but you cannot afford the cost for food, clothes and school. What do you do?
In Malaysia, many refugee youths, both married and unmarried, face similar dilemmas daily. Family planning can then courage you to think about the dilemmas faced by victims of conflict or persecution and ask yourself
“What would you do?”
To learn more about this year’s “dilemma campaign”, please visit:
To learn more about this year’s “dilemma campaign”, please visit:
UNHCR’s call to action page:
http://takeaction.unhcr.org
http://takeaction.unhcr.org/ or the
"My Life as a Refugee" app Website:
http://mylifeasarefugee.org
http://mylifeasarefugee.org/
be difficult without access to information and resources, particularly if you don’t speak local languages. Choosing how and when to have a family must be an informed decision.
There are public clinics in Malaysia that provide counselling sessions but few are tailored to refugee minors. They learn about reproductive health by word of mouth. However, most never get this information at all.
But you can help! Be the one to empower young refugees to make one of the most important decisions of their lives: when and how to have a family.
Contact us to learn how you can contribute to the reproductive health programmes run by refugees.
http://mylifeasarefugee.org
http://mylifeasarefugee.org/
be difficult without access to information and resources, particularly if you don’t speak local languages. Choosing how and when to have a family must be an informed decision.
There are public clinics in Malaysia that provide counselling sessions but few are tailored to refugee minors. They learn about reproductive health by word of mouth. However, most never get this information at all.
But you can help! Be the one to empower young refugees to make one of the most important decisions of their lives: when and how to have a family.
Contact us to learn how you can contribute to the reproductive health programmes run by refugees.
“Young girls may endure misery as a result of early marriage and the number of those who would seek help, if they thought it existed, is impossible to calculate. Until more is known about their situation there can be no reliable estimates of the scale of their predicament, or of the social damage that is carried forward in the upbringing they give to their own children..”
UNICEF
(Innocenti Digest no. 7)
Kaoprise Bath & Spa: Livelihood Project
by Tanda Htun
Refugee women face the same day to day challenges as any other women, but added to that is the difficulties of living as a refugee in Malaysia.
The Kaoprise Bath & Spa livelihood project, founded by the Mon women refugees from Myanmar, aims to empower Mon women to get income in a safe environment, provide learning opportunities and gain skills to be independent.
Kaoprise is doing a tremendous job empowering the women and helping ease their lives while they are in Malaysia. Many Kaoprise women earn RM500 every month from making and packaging products like soap and coconut oil Kaoprise center. Kaoprise focuses on natural and organic ingredients that are safe and its fair trade philosophy empower women.
The women are not just earning an income. They also learn business and language skills that build their self- confidence. Kaoprise also empowers women to become leaders.
With their newly-acquired leadership skills, the women participate in community activities like organizing traditional festivals, which helps to strengthen the solidarity and empower the community as a whole.
Refugee women face the same day to day challenges as any other women, but added to that is the difficulties of living as a refugee in Malaysia.
The Kaoprise Bath & Spa livelihood project, founded by the Mon women refugees from Myanmar, aims to empower Mon women to get income in a safe environment, provide learning opportunities and gain skills to be independent.
Kaoprise is doing a tremendous job empowering the women and helping ease their lives while they are in Malaysia. Many Kaoprise women earn RM500 every month from making and packaging products like soap and coconut oil Kaoprise center. Kaoprise focuses on natural and organic ingredients that are safe and its fair trade philosophy empower women.
The women are not just earning an income. They also learn business and language skills that build their self- confidence. Kaoprise also empowers women to become leaders.
With their newly-acquired leadership skills, the women participate in community activities like organizing traditional festivals, which helps to strengthen the solidarity and empower the community as a whole.
Like Eternal Blooming Flowers,
Never Give Up!
Never Give Up!
by SPF Team
Living in a Malaysia as a refugee is not easy. It is extremely difficult for refugee women to get a decently paying job. The school “N WAI PAN FLORIST” organized by the Kachin refugees group from Myanmar offers basic skills of flower arrangement to refugee women.
Living in a Malaysia as a refugee is not easy. It is extremely difficult for refugee women to get a decently paying job. The school “N WAI PAN FLORIST” organized by the Kachin refugees group from Myanmar offers basic skills of flower arrangement to refugee women.
The project is funded by the UNHCR SPF programme.
The second batch of 8 students learns floral arrangement twice a week and their beautiful flowers decorate their churches, weddings and community activities.
“N WAI PAN means eternal blooming flowers in our language. Through this training, I want students to learn not only floral arrangement skills, but also have more confidence. No matter how hard their life is, I want them to live with a hope for the future, like these beautiful flowers always blooming to the sun” said Ahsamee, the coordinator.
Now, her dream is to establish an advanced class to offer higher skills for students. “I believe women are the one who create the world. Through acquiring skills, women can be more confident and independent. I want to create more opportunities for women refugees so that they themselves can bloom in their lives, like flowers,” said Ahsamee.
The second batch of 8 students learns floral arrangement twice a week and their beautiful flowers decorate their churches, weddings and community activities.
“N WAI PAN means eternal blooming flowers in our language. Through this training, I want students to learn not only floral arrangement skills, but also have more confidence. No matter how hard their life is, I want them to live with a hope for the future, like these beautiful flowers always blooming to the sun” said Ahsamee, the coordinator.
Now, her dream is to establish an advanced class to offer higher skills for students. “I believe women are the one who create the world. Through acquiring skills, women can be more confident and independent. I want to create more opportunities for women refugees so that they themselves can bloom in their lives, like flowers,” said Ahsamee.
Social Protection Fund, UNHCR
Known as SPF, we started in July 2009. Our aim is to
assist and promote self help and independence
among the refugee communities in Malaysia. As of
Feb 2012, we have provided grants to 261 community
projects that are located in Penang, Perak, Selangor,
Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan
and Johor.
The projects range from income generating projects,
skills training (computer, tailoring and handicraft) and
community services and development (shelter, youth
club and peaceful co-existence). These projects
benefit about 35,000 people.
We seek your support to directly sponsor some of the
existing projects or new projects either financially or in
kind. For more information, contact us at:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Tel: 03-2141 1322 (ext 209 @ 210)
Website: www.unhcr.org.my or
http://spfunhcr.wordpress.com or
sign up to volunteer at
www.shiftboard.com/unhcrmalaysia
Known as SPF, we started in July 2009. Our aim is to
assist and promote self help and independence
among the refugee communities in Malaysia. As of
Feb 2012, we have provided grants to 261 community
projects that are located in Penang, Perak, Selangor,
Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan
and Johor.
The projects range from income generating projects,
skills training (computer, tailoring and handicraft) and
community services and development (shelter, youth
club and peaceful co-existence). These projects
benefit about 35,000 people.
We seek your support to directly sponsor some of the
existing projects or new projects either financially or in
kind. For more information, contact us at:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Tel: 03-2141 1322 (ext 209 @ 210)
Website: www.unhcr.org.my or
http://spfunhcr.wordpress.com or
sign up to volunteer at
www.shiftboard.com/unhcrmalaysia
No comments:
Post a Comment