Bob Hansens
Austin,
TX —
United States
a FORGEnow member for: over 3 years
To improve access to medical care and health education in one of the most populated refugee communities in Meheba Settlement, which has not had a working clinic for more than five years.
Geographically, Block G in Meheba Refugee Settlement finds itself at a drastic disadvantage in terms of receiving health services. Located at the back of the camp and far from any clinics, the refugees of Block G feel isolated and under-served when it comes to medical attention. When FORGE brought this community together to determine what they needed, the answer was clear: an opportunity for healthier lives. After an extensive needs assessment, the refugee project leader explains that, "the findings showed clearly that the population of all ages and classes suffered pain of lack of medical services." Thus they designed the Refugee Health Service project, which will enable patients who can’t make it to the nearest clinic to get basic medicines, allow pregnant women to get delivery assistance by trained midwives, and give children access to the care that they need. This project will help all 2,000 people in this block to live longer and healthier lives.
To decrease the incidence of unnecessary illness, death and disease in Kala camp through educating adults and children about healthy living and disease prevention.
As of December 1, 2009, FORGE is no longer working in Kala Refugee Camp. Thus, FORGE is no longer accepting funds for this project. Knowledge about how to build healthy families, live healthy lives, and treat and avoid illness is among the most highly-sought after information in the refugee camps in which FORGE works. The refugee staff of Kala Health Services takes a holistic approach to health education by teaching about disease and illness by focusing on human anatomy and body systems. From this solid foundation, students learn about how diseases are contracted, spread, and avoided. Serving more than 50 people each month, Kala Health Services has seen marked improvements in the camp’s knowledge about caring for and maintaining their own personal health. This knowledge will be especially important upon return to Congo, where many people have no access to formal health services.
To develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of refugee women by providing a safe space for women to work together, create, learn, and expand their horizons.
The strength and leadership that female refugees provide bolsters their homes and communities on a daily basis. Working with FORGE, Angolan refugee Jacqui B. established the Meheba Women’s Center in 2005 to encourage and support women in the Meheba community. To this end, Jacqui B and the staff of the Meheba Women’s Center, in conjunction with FORGE, have created a place for women to pursue vocational training, workshops on their gender-specific rights, and informal counseling services to address cases of rape and domestic abuse. Today, the Meheba Women's Center, managed entirely by refugee women, is a vibrant and bustling cornerstone of the Meheba Community.
To provide post-secondary scholarships for exceptional refugee adults who have been accepted to universities and vocational schools in Zambia.
For many refugees in Zambia, secondary school is a privilege, and university seems an impossible proposition. Not only is university tuition expensive, but obtaining the legal approval to leave the camp and travel to a campus is nearly impossible for these refugees given their limited resources for communication and navigating the Zambian system. This situation is tragic, given that many of the refugees with whom FORGE works are exceptionally intelligent and academically motivated. The FORGE Post-Secondary Scholarship Fund provides the structure and means for these exceptional students to attend university, obtain a degree, and outfit themselves with the qualifications necessary to find a job upon their return to their home countries. Many of these students have chosen to focus their studies on nonprofit management, in the hopes that they can use their education to give back to their communities and build strong systems for the future.
