Want to help refugees in Kansas City? August 27, 2008
Posted by Zack in Kansas, Missouri | 3 commentsThis post if for readers who live in the Kansas City area.
Elizabeth and I have gotten involved in the lives of this amazing group of refugees from Burma. They’re from a minority nationality from Burma who have been struggling for survival against all kinds of attacks by the Burmese state and army there for about 60 years. People from this nationality just started arriving in the U.S. two years ago. They have very little support. And almost no one speaks English yet. Most of these families have been living in refugee camps in Thailand for the last 10 years.
They’re really struggling here just to get jobs, make it to the doctor, get immunizations, enroll in school, get dental care for long-standing issues, learn to drive, fill out forms for basic assistance and housing, etc…
About 20 years ago, I hitched hiked through a part of South East Asia just a few hundred miles from where these folks come from, and where a related nationality lived. I’d wind up in a village near night fall, and the village would just get together and decide who would take care of me that night. A family would take me home, feed me, tell me stories (we all spoke about the same amount of Chinese), and give me the best mat in the house to sleep on. I was 18 years old and was so arrogant as to think that I should just be able to walk into villages and have people take care of me. They didn’t mind — they thought it was normal to put themselves out to take care of strangers, even when it could potentially get them in trouble with the government.
And so that’s part of why it’s breaking my heart seeing these families stuck in inadequate housing, with roaches crawling all over everything (not able to communicate with the landlord or pay for exterminators), without enough food half the time, and with hardly anyone lending a hand. But being around these families is an amazing thing. Watching them do church, whether you’re Christian or not, will blow you away. (They got totally missionized in the 1850’s, which is part of why they’re being driven out of Burma, and therefore why we owe them!) Watching them laugh and have a great time even as they’re getting beat up at school, going hungry at home, and being sick and stranded at home without transportation will blow you away too. They’re just awesome people. You should meet them if you live in Kansas City.
Anyone want to help meet some of these needs and get to know these families? Email us at help@revolutioninjesusland.com.
Tags: Kansas City, Refugees
