Donate to end Dependence for Refugees

We recognise the importance of culture in the projects supported by REI. Culture is identity. It is important to most of us but especially to refugees and displaced people when they have lost so much.

Our mission is to empower communities to create their own solutions, deeply rooted in their cultural context.

In the addiction programme on the Thai-Myanmar border the team uses treatment methods such as acupuncture, local herbs and yoga that are appropriate to the community and are easily accepted by them.

The Karenni Social Development Center has established a curriculum that addresses issues relevant to the Karenni community and their immediate concerns such as deforestation and human rights. Thus the learning enables students to return to their communities and make a difference.

In Kenya a new refugee law encourages refugees to move away from camps to greater socio-economic integration. This will increase the number of refugees in urban areas and it is essential that they are able to support themselves. The support REI provides through the Refugee Empowerment programme is already addressing the challenges for urban refugees as they integrate into the community. We see that the business training activities benefit the refugees themselves as well as their Kenyan counterparts and the local economy.

One long-time supporter recently joined an REI Field visit and commented afterwards: “I’ve known for a long time that the projects were impactful, but what I hadn’t realized was how extremely professional the project teams are. They are well organised and clearly focused on what is best for their communities, and skilled at making the most of the limited resources available.”