Refugee Resettlement Honor

ADRA

Requirements

1. Describe some general causes of why people move to other countries as refugees. Also define the terms refugee, internally displaced person, and immigrant, and explain how these words are similar or different.

   Answer: Causes: war, persecution (race, religion, politics, ethnicity), natural disasters, generalized violence, and famine. Refugee: crosses a border due to a well-founded fear of persecution (1951 UN Convention). Internally displaced person: flees within their own country. Immigrant: moves voluntarily, usually for economic reasons. — The 1951 UN Convention defines a refugee and provides international protection via UNHCR (created in 1950); internally displaced persons do not cross a border but are protected by the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998). In 2024, there are about 120 million forcibly displaced people in the world (a historic record).

2. List the immediate needs a refugee may have upon arriving in a new country. Describe how you would feel if you suddenly had to face a new language, culture, and environment.

   Answer: Immediate needs: shelter, food, drinking water, clothing, safety, basic health care, communication, legal documents (refugee status, ID). Personal feelings: fear, anxiety, loss of identity, loneliness, and cultural stress when facing a new language, food, customs, and environment without a support network. — Maslow's pyramid applies perfectly: first physiological needs (shelter, food, water), then safety (legal status, protection against deportation), and only then belonging (friendships) and self-actualization. UNHCR and ADRA prioritize precisely this staged care in refugee camps.

3. Find out which organizations in your community, country, or the world help refugees and internally displaced persons. Research the work they do.

   Answer: Research organizations that work with refugees: UNHCR (UN, the main one worldwide), the International Red Cross, ADRA (Adventist), Caritas (Catholic), Doctors Without Borders, the Migrant Pastoral. In Brazil: CONARE (governmental) and the National Committee for Refugees. Visit their websites and report on the work done. — UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has operated in 130 countries since 1950 and received 2 Nobel Peace Prizes (1954 and 1981); ADRA Brazil has a specific program for Venezuelans in Roraima and Manaus; CONARE is the federal body that decides asylum applications in the country (created by Law 9.474/97).

4. Describe in a few words how you could help a refugee or an internally displaced person in your community.

   Answer: You can help: by teaching the local language, donating clothes and food, offering temporary lodging, accompanying them to official sites (registry office, school), introducing them to the community, offering friendship and prayer. Also donate to ADRA or UNHCR and promote the cause in your church and club. — Small actions are the most transformative — a family that welcomed Venezuelans in Roraima or Ukrainians in Curitiba reports that presence, language, and empathy matter more than money; ADRA Brazil's Pana program mobilizes volunteers for simple actions like these throughout the country.

5. Ask a person from another country who lives in your community how they adjusted to the new environment. Ask them to describe the challenges and contrasts they experienced during the process of adapting to the community.

   Answer: You must interview a person from another country who lives in your community — ask about their challenges (language, food, climate, missing family, racism, bureaucracy) and the contrasts between their country of origin and the current one. Note down the answers and share with the instructor what you learned about the experience. — The personal interview is a classic method of qualitative research — it humanizes statistics; suggested questions: 'what is your background?', 'how long have you lived here?', 'what did you miss most?', 'what was the biggest culture shock?', 'how did you receive support?'. Document it in text or video (with permission).

6. Give a brief report to your Pathfinder Club, church, school, or a civic group about what you learned about refugees and internally displaced persons and the challenges they face. You may fulfill this requirement through an audiovisual presentation, a skit, a video, or any other form that best conveys your findings. Discuss why it is important to be attentive to the situation of refugees and to try to find solutions to this problem.

   Answer: Present what you learned about refugees to your club, church, school, or civic group in a free format (slides, video, skit, banner). Include: the causes of seeking refuge, the challenges faced (language, racism, bureaucracy), the organizations that help, how each person can contribute, and the importance of welcoming them. — The presentation has a dual missional purpose — to raise the group's awareness of Christian welcome and to inspire concrete actions (donation campaigns, volunteering); World Refugee Day is June 20, an ideal date for this presentation on the club's or church's calendar.