Alight (formerly ARC)

Facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more than 65 million people around the world have been displaced from their homes over the last decade; a situation that will place many of them in refugee settlements for the next 17 years of their lives.

To combat this often-traumatic experience and growing crisis, the 2018 Saint Paul Winter Carnival Royal Family has teamed up with the ARC to support the continued development of the Nakivale Rotaract Club and projects to build a sense of community and sustainability within the refugee settlement.

In conjunction with this work, the Royal Family has designed a new fundraising initiative to further their mission across international borders, called the “Ice Block Promise.” This initiative has allocated funding for 30 additional $500 projects in the settlement, funding life-changing ideas from acting members of the Nakivale Rotaract Club through the ARC's Changemakers 365 program. Past projects have included cots and mattresses – a soft place to rest – for refugees who’ve just completed their journey to a refugee camp. They have taken the form of art supplies for kids who need a safe place to wait while their siblings and parents receive therapy for malnutrition. They have looked like a fresh coat of paint for refugee camp buildings, brightening everyone’s day. The Ice Block Promise aims to raise the necessary funds by January 2019, the end of the 2018's Royal Family's reign. “Through this international collaboration, these projects will reach beyond borders to leave a positive, lasting, and direct change on the world we share,” says Nadimi.

The Royal Family is committed to building community one ice block at a time across Minnesota, the United States, and the world at-large. With the support of local organizations like the ARC Changemakers 365 campaign and the Roseville Rotary Club, the Royal Family is dedicated to making a difference around the world. Tying it all together, the joint-initiative will also work to support local projects in the Royal Family’s realm of St. Paul. The Ice Block Promise needs your support!

In January of 2017 I announced my intention to do a Big Year Birding fundraiser for Refugee Relief. I managed to see  343 bird species towards that effort from January 1st 2017-January 1st 2018. For all my family and friends that pledged to support this effort please multiply your pledge by 343 and donate that corresponding amount. 
Thank you,
Jamie

Languages open doors. Learning a new language can provide so many opportunities. Neuroscientist have also shown that learning new languages helps increases the density of grey matter which contain most of the brain's neurons and synapses. The benefits of language learning will last a life time. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

The Story:
My name is Jean Luc Biluge, and I’d like to transform the Youth Center at Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda into a language training center for youth. Actually, we wouldn’t change the youth center much, we’d just want to add resources to help young men and women learn English and other languages.



I’ve been living in Nakivale for several years now. I’m 20 years old, and I came here several years ago with my family from eastern Congo.

Life is tough for everybody, but especially for youth in Nakivale. We’re all able to work, but there is very little for us to do here. There are no occupations for us. Each family receives a small plot of land to farm, but it’s difficult to grow anything worth selling because there is a drought and there’s really no way to irrigate or bring water long distances to the land.

There are few opportunities to make a living, so many youth don’t have much more to do than sit around.

We need to come up with other opportunities for young people here.

So, I’d like to use the youth center as a language training center. With $1,800, we could purchase a small television and DVD player and language learning DVD courses that anyone could use and play at any time.  But we would spend most of the money to pay refugees in the camp to teach language to other refugees. Teachers would get a small stipend to lead small language classes and conversation groups.

It would provide an opportunity for those of us who are proficient speakers to earn a little bit of income, and it would give other young refugees the chance to learn an important skill that could be valuable now or in our future.

If this language center idea works, we could try other skills – like carpentry, mechanics, tailoring or electronics. The youth center is already a central location that young people know about and use to socialize.

This would allow us to make it an even better resource for the whole community. I hope you’ll consider supporting my idea.

ARC Staff Sponsor:
Joseph Kyobe is ARC’s Senior Logistics Officer in Uganda. He travels regularly between the refugee settlements in Uganda making sure things are running smoothly and efficiently. Joseph is proud to sponsor Jean’s campaign and will support him as he works to make their idea a reality.

About the ARC:
The American Refugee Committee is an international relief agency providing lifesaving support like health care, clean water and shelter to refugees around the world for more than 35 years. Today, the world is facing challenging global humanitarian crises that require 21st Century solutions. At ARC, we’ve realized we are going to have to change and transform our work in the face of such large scale problems if we’re to continue making any difference. We also recognize that in the hyper-connected 21st Century we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring amazing people together to work on these big challenges. Some of these amazing people are our staff around the world who are sharing with you their ideas (or ideas they support) for change in the communities where they work. They are changemakers –who would love to work together with you to make their ideas happen.