Burmese Refugee Family Sponsored by Zen Community of Oregon
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The Jizo Refuge Project was begun in late July, 2007 when Bill Coddington, from Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon's SOAR (Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees) office, spoke with Chozen at the Monastery about the possibility of ZCO sponsoring a Burmese family coming to Portland from the refugee camps in Thailand. And in alignment with Jizo Bodhisattva's vow to protect women, children and travelers, the project has developed over the past months with a working team of 15 and an outpouring of generosity from the sangha community both at the Monastery and in Portland. Working in coordination with SOAR, ZCO agreed to formally sponsor one family. Sponsorship includes these responsibilities: meet the family at the airport; have a Burmese-appropriate meal for them; rent an apartment and furnish it asap after arrival; provide transportation to the social service meetings that they must attend to get established with money, food stamps, insurance, medical care, employment support, ESL and bus transport training. We are also encouraged to help them learn how to function in this community, teaching daily living skills, rudimentary conversation, etc. And to provide whatever social support seems appropriate while assisting them to become self-sufficient. A few weeks ago, when we were getting an update from SOAR about when our family might arrive, we learned that there was another Burmese family arriving immediately without any sponsoring group except for a grandfather. While signing some papers at SOAR, Vesna Vila, the Executive Director, asked if we could help this family as well. They have been friends with "our" family in the camps and attended the same church. Our working team and the council agreed that we have enough donations and support from the sangha to take on another family. This family, Earl, Sarah, Mo (14), Christian (13) and Peter (9) arrived in Portland on Tuesday, March 4th. We met the family the next morning at their first meeting at SOAR. For the next two weeks the family is going to be quite busy keeping all the required social service appointments--we have volunteered to help with their transportation as much as possible. SOAR casemanager, Olga Condon, is in charge of over-all management of the family's first few months in the Portland. She will make all the appointments; provide transportation when we cannot; and disperse initial money. By the end of next week (March 14th) they all will have had medical exams and any needed treatment, been given social security cards and food stamps, and provided with initial information about ESL classes, including dates and times. The children will start being tested to determine the most helpful way to transition into the public school system. Both Earl and Sarah will be receiving training about how to use the bus system and will have attended their first employment support meeting. The family we are officially sponsoring may be here by the end of March. This family, father, mother, and 18-month old child will need immediate housing in either an apartment we have managed to rent for them before they come or in some kind of temporary housing situation. We hope that we can find housing in the same complex or near their friends who are in Southeast Portland at 28th and Rhone (a block south of Powell.) This will allow them to be part of a Burmese community right away.. We will provide the family with furniture and furnishings,deposits for the apartment; a few months rent until they find a job, and initial food and clothing, etc. Currently we have a good amount of furniture and household equipment. Clothing and shoes will be provided once the family is here. Once each family has gotten through the first couple of weeks, we will be looking at what holes there are in our supplies for them. We are looking forward to a community wide potluck with them after they are truly settled in Portland. If you are interested in being involved with the Jizo Refuge Project in any way, please feel free to contact one of the members of our working team: Nancy Kodo Conover, Patrick Basho Green, Chuck Ensoku Gleason, Fran Tester, Carrie Schneider, Andy & Sherri Montgomery, Lauren Weiner, Ray Hixon, Ron Rubino, Kojun Hull, Terri Dudek, Nan & Allen Whitaker-Emrich
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