Refugee Ministry

September/October 2009

The Harvest is Plentiful

Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network

By Joya Colon

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus describes his work by saying to his disciples, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” As part of a volunteer-based grassroots effort known as Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network, refugees in Tucson, Ariz. are putting these words into practice, literally.

The Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network is an extension of the Refugee Ministry at St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, and was developed under the collaborative leadership of director Dr. Barbara Eiswerth, and Pastor Rolly Loomis. The mission of Iskashitaa (which means “working cooperatively together” in the Somali-Bantu dialect Maay Maay) is to create opportunities for refugees to use their knowledge and skills to help their community integrate with the larger Tucson community. Simultaneously refugees gain skills that serve them in the US. Iskashitaa has several programs, including a refugee sewing and crafting circle; yet its first initiative, the Harvesting Network remains its most prominent program.

Dr. Barbara Eiswerth and members of the Iskashitaa refugee harvesting network.

According to Barbara Eiswerth, founder and coordinator of Iskashitaa, “food is an incredibly powerful common denominator that can build bridges between refugees and their new neighbors in new countries.” Starting in 2003, African refugee students were recruited to fruit tree locations to harvest and redistribute locally grown food resources (many of which were going to waste). Now the program has expanded to work with inter-generational refugee populations from a growing list of countries including Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Iraq, Rwanda. This year, Iskashitaa refugees and volunteers have harvested approximately 40,000 lbs. of fruits and vegetables from backyards and local farms. Once collected, the food is redistributed to refugee families and other Tucson organizations that assist families in need. Volunteers, including members of St. Francis in the Foothills UMC, invite the wider community to donate excess fruit by handing out flyers in neighborhoods and community events.

Rolly Loomis, Pastor of Family Ministries and Missions, views this work as truly living out the gospel message, “Jesus Christ gave us two commandments: to love God and to love each other. If we can’t operate out of that foundation, we are totally wasting our time”.

For more information or if you are interested in donating or harvesting lemons, tangerines, figs, pomegranates , limes, apples, and more, please email harvest@fruitmappers.org or UMCORRefugee@gbgm-umc-org You may also check out Iskashitaa’s website at www.fruitmappers.org, their Facebook page, or Google them and follow the Youtube links for videos.

UMCOR/UMVIM Volunteer Opportunity in Chile

Some of you may remember that in our March/April Refugee Ministry Newsletter we publicized a micro-enterprise project for Columbian refugees in Chile.

Years of armed conflict in Colombia generated one of the largest displacements in the world, with more than three million people fleeing their homes. The government of Chile has been working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resettle Colombian refugees in Chile. Responding to the need for support to these refugees and the communities they enter, UMCOR’s resettlement partner, Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program (CWS IRP) launched a partnership in 2004 with the Christian Social Aid Foundation and the Chilean Methodist Church, to support this resettlement.

Colombian refugees at a PROSIR orientation workshop in Santiago, Chile.

Recognizing that the program supports resettlement and addresses world refugee issues, UMCOR provided $33,000 through the Refugee Response Advance #982540 to expand micro-enterprise opportunities for Colombian refugees in Chile. Demand for this program is increasing, and participant selection is focused on the most vulnerable cases.

UMCOR is also partnering with CWS IRP and United Methodist Volunteers in Missions (UMVIM) to send a volunteer to work with the micro-enterprise program, particularly to increase congregational involvement in the Refugee Integration Services Program (PROSIR), and work with PROSIR staff and Methodist church leaders to increase their overall capacity.

If you are interested, or know someone who might be interested please take a look at the UMVIM website or contact us at UMCORRefugee@gbgm-umc.org. Prior experience in coordinating volunteer ministries, congregational and volunteer outreach and/or prior experience with refugees or migrants are a plus. The arrival date would sometime around mid-January 2010 and the stay would be approximately six months. Travel and housing will be provided, however the volunteer is expected to cover all other expenses.

Greetings from UMCOR's Refugee Ministry Office! Our goal is to connect and support UMC congregations engaged with refugees. We want this to be as interactive as possible, so the more we hear back from you, the better!

Thanks to those you that have applied and/or forwarded the information about our UMCOR Refugee Assistance Grant. UMCOR's Refugee Ministry makes available grants for projects that focus on ministry serving refugees, immigrants, detainees and/or asylum seekers. If you are interested, or know of an organization, etc. that might be interested in applying for a grant, please contact us at UMCORRefugee@gbgm-umc.org or call 212-870-3888.

Today we would like to address a new topic: helpful resources for working with newly arrived refugees. In particular those who have co-sponsored families have reported many “surprises” or “unnecessary challenges”. We support ‘learning-on-the-job’ and believe that no one could or should know everything right off the bat, there are resources to help you avoid some of the more preventable hardships. In addition to the training and guidance that many of you have received, and continue to receive, from the local affiliate offices, UMCOR is another network of support.

Our partner in refugee resettlement Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program provides several online resources, including resettlement basics and faith resources for congregations and the Manual for Refugee Sponsorship. We encourage you to review these materials even if you may have seen them before, as there is a lot of information that is tremendously helpful and very specific to the work that we do.

Also, please feel free to respond: What aspects of this work have you felt ill prepared for? What “surprises” could have been avoided? What are some of the resources that have benefited you in the past? Please contact us at UMCORRefugee@gbgm-umc.org or call 212-870-3888.

You’re the experts – we need to hear from you!

Thanks from the UMCOR Refugee Team

Share your thoughts and photos:

UMCOR Refugee Ministry
475 Riverside Drive, Rm. 330
New York, NY 10115
Tel: 212-870-3888
umcorrefugee@gbgm-umc.org

Our Work

Refugee Ministry Newsletter Archives

Spirit of Hope UMC: Big Warriors for Christ

By Ruth Egger

The Bellou family, Ruth Egger, Pastor Pam Wagner and members of Spirit of Hope UMC.

In April, Spirit of Hope UMC in Phoenix Arizona was invited to attend an informational meeting about local refugee resettlement at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest. After the meeting they agreed to Co-Sponsor a Refugee family of seven from the Ivory Coast. The family had spent the last seven years at a refugee camp in Ghana after fleeing their country because of civil war and political persecution. According to Ruth Egger, Chair of the Mission Committee, it was the beginning of the most rewarding, difficult and blessed project they had ever undertaken.

Spirit of Hope UMC is a small church, about 150 members, who consider themselves big warriors for Christ. Upon preparing for the arrival of the family, Spirit of Hope got right to work collecting furnishings, clothing and food. Acquiring the necessities for seven people in such a short time was daunting, but as Ruth Egger puts it “God opened doors we were unaware of”. Among all the generous donations were furnishings from an entire one bedroom apartment.

On May 14, 2009 the Bellou family of seven arrived and a team joined to meet them at the airport. Team members could see that the family was thrilled with their new “digs”, and relished their first home made meal in the United States. Two days later the team took the family on bus tour of Phoenix and went shopping. Ruth recalls the experience, “seeing the family react to shopping for groceries and clothing, we were certainly humbled by the bounty in our lives that we take for granted”.

The Bellou family asked if they could attend church that Sunday, and members of the team arranged a welcoming service to warmly welcome the newcomers. Pastor Pam offered a special prayer and blessing for the family.

The following weeks were filled with lessons in shopping for food and clothing and staying within a budget. The Bellou family was particularly intrigued by all the different appliances, repeatedly proclaiming: “everything is automatic here!” And most of all, they were glad to celebrate the once two-year-olds third birthday, living in peace.

“We have grown tremendously from the experience and are so grateful to have the opportunity to serve God in this way,” says Ruth. “It is awesome to experience how God works to help his servants. Our Lord is truly an awesome God.”

Support New Hope for Newcomers, Advance #901779.