Please join us on Thursday evening, at the Lawrence Memorial Library:
First Welcome for Refugees - Laying Solid Foundations for Renewed Lives in the U.S.
Refugees are ordinary people caught in an extraordinary situation. Laurie Stavrand, Community Partnership Coordinator of the USCRI/Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program (VRRP), will help attendees understand how refugees can overcome a traumatic past to find a safe haven and make a new home in Vermont - where they will work, raise families, make connections, and become respected members of the community.
As a highlight of the evening, Aden Haji, a UVM student and member of the first Somali Bantu family to resettle in Vermont, will discuss the importance of telling our stories so that our community can be inclusive. The audience will also view a film highlighting three former refugees who resettled in Vermont from Somali Bantu, Bhutanese and Bosnian cultures.
USCRI/VRRP, founded in 1980, offers an opportunity for all Vermonters to respond to the global refugee crisis in concrete ways. In the Yankee tradition of neighbors helping neighbors, Vermonters give refugees a helping hand and the tools they need to develop personal independence and economic self-sufficiency while becoming contributing, able participants in their Vermont communities.
One World Library Project is a local community non-profit that “Brings the World to our Community” through regular programs as well as a collection of adult and children's books and films about world cultures, all of which can be found and checked out at the Lawrence Memorial Library.
This free program is supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council, is accessible to those with disabilities, and is open to all. For more information: 453-2366, http://www.oneworldlibraryproject.org/ https://www.facebook.com/OneWorldLibraryProject/
Nov 19, 2024, 7 to 8:15 PM
Grieving and Weaving at the New Haven Community LibraryNov 21, 2024, 6 to 7 PM
Contra DanceNov 22, 2024, 7 to 9 PM