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Make
a difference in the lives of some of San Diego’s most vulnerable
residents.
Volunteer today!!
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How to Volunteer
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To learn more
information about volunteering
contact Volunteer Services
by e-mail:
volunteer@alliance-for-africa.org
Click
here
to complete the volunteer Application.
Or by telephone:
(619) 286-9052 ext. 240 or fax at
619-286-9053.
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Volunteer Opportunities |
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AAA
has many exciting volunteer and internship opportunities including, but
not limited to:
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Mentor a refugee family.
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Market AAA’s programs and services to businesses and
individuals in the community.
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Assist office staff with data and file management.
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Connect Burmese refugees with resources and services
in their community.
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Collect demographic data to help advocate for the
rights of newly established populations.
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Provide medical and/or translation services for the
Alliance Health Clinic.
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Help refugee youth learn the basics of Financial
Literacy.
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Why Volunteer? |
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·
Learn
more about other people and yourself.
·
Help
someone adapt to life in the United States.
·
Understand
aspects of another culture.
·
Gain
a new perspective on International events.
·
Build
experience working in a
non-profit environment
·
Use
your skills and
experience to make a difference |
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Make an
Impact
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For
refugees, partnership with AAA’s Volunteer’s is an opportunity
to:
·
Share
the story
of the country and life they left behind.
·
Acquire
and practice English skills.
·
Ask
questions
about American culture.
·
Become
acquainted with their community.
Help
meet the challenges of building a new life.
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Who Are Refugees? |
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The Alliance for African Assistance resettles refugees from all over the
world. Currently the Alliance resettles primarily Iraqi and Burmese
refugees.
In the simplest terms, a
refugee is a person who is afraid to go home. To be considered a refugee a
person must fit the definition given by the United Nation in 1951. This
states, “A
refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted
for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to
avail himself of the protection of that country.”
But that
description does not begin to tell the story of the traumas refugees
endure. Usually forced to leave their homes suddenly, their possessions
are reduced to what they can carry—sometimes no more than the clothes on
their backs.
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How Do Refugees Get Here?
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Once refugees cross
into a neighboring country, they are interviewed by U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees staff to determine their status. Those who meet the official
UNHCR criteria are documented as refugees and allowed to remain in that
country, usually in a refugee camp.
Once admitted to these camps refugees subsist in a state of waiting –
waiting to return home, or waiting to be allowed to resettle in a new
country. Harsh conditions, overcrowding, lack of privacy, and inadequate
food, water, sanitation and medical care are common in camps. Everyone
faces the grinding tedium of passing time without sufficient
income-generating activities for the adults or educational opportunities
for the children.
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The few refugees
fortunate enough to be repatriated often find their homeland devastated by
war. Some refugees stay in the country where they are waiting, but other
countries have difficulty absorbing refugees into their economies.
Resettlement in a third country is an option for less than one percent of
all refugees. |
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Each year the president,
in consultation with Congress, sets the number of refugees who may be
resettled in the United States. Refugees who want to come here must
register with a U.S. State Department representative and be interviewed by
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service staff. Those approved for
admission are allocated among the resettlement agencies. |
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For more information about the programs and services , please
contact Volunteer coordinator Jen-Marie Merriman by phone at
(619) 286 - 9052, ext. 240
vvolunteer@alliance-for-africa.org |
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