To help people starting out with a new life
It obviously is not easy to be a refugee. These people leave their homelands and everything that is familiar to them to travel to a land where they hope to make a new life. Of course, they would like to be welcomed as they start out with virtually nothing. They need a lot of help.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Capitol Hill region of Salt Lake City are sponsoring a drive on Saturday, December 11, 2021, from 10 am to noon. It is to collect "Donations for Refugees" to help recent refugees to Utah.
The definition of a refugee from Wikipedia is as follows:
A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national boundaries and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) if they formally make a claim for asylum. The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the United Nations Office of the UNHCR. The United Nations has a second office for refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is solely responsible for supporting the large majority of Palestinian refugees. [Wikipedia]
It has to be a frightening and scary prospect to become a refugee. They are searching for a better life as they often flee from war and hardship.
An article in The Daily Universe was written by Katherine Bennett on November 29, 2021. It was about refugees coming to Utah from Afghanistan. She wrote:
When chaos exploded three months ago in Afghanistan, people fled to other parts of the world. Gov. Spencer Cox issued a statement inviting and permitting Afghan refugees to relocate to Utah.
The International Rescue Committee, otherwise known as the IRC, opened its Salt Lake City location in 1994 and has served 12,000 individuals since. [IRC was started at the suggestion of Albert Einstein in 1933.]
Natalie El-Deiry is the executive director of the organization, but with the new Afghan refugees, she said she has been rolling up her sleeves, picking families up from the airport, setting up apartments and delivering goods.
As the refugees from Afghanistan are arriving in Utah, people are stepping up to help. The refugees are starting a new life and generally need everything it takes to set up housekeeping. The donations of money, clothing and other products are needed by these people trying to establish a new home.
Anyone who is willing to help in this effort can join on Saturday, December 11, by going to the area above the Utah State Capitol between 10 am and noon to drop off donations. The address is 155 North Sandrun. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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