Experience Life at a Refugee Camp—on the WWU Campus

11/12/2009 Mary Ann Beahon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (573) 592-1127

 

Life in a refugee camp is something few individuals in Callaway County have encountered. Now, as a fundraiser for the Rwanda Community Partnership, community members can tour a mock refugee camp on the William Woods University campus.
 
The WWU Multicultural Affairs Club will team up with the Heartland PeaceJam Youth Conference to sponsor this eye-opening experience.
 
Saturday afternoon (Nov. 14), during the Heartland PeaceJam Youth Conference with Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams, participants will build a mock refugee camp, including living structures, a hospital, a cemetery and more.   
 
Next week (Nov. 16 – 20) members of WWU’s Multicultural Affairs Club will lead tours of the refugee camp and explain each of the stations. They will also present facts about refugees in other areas of the world, including Darfur. Tour participants will be given an “identity” and the opportunity to experience the life situation of an individual refugee.
 
Families in refugee camps are often driven from their homes by violence, genocide and other conflicts. They make do with inadequate housing, sanitation, schools, hospitals and other aspects of life for extended periods of time.
 
The mock refugee camp will be located on the William Woods campus behind the Helen Stephens Sports Complex. To schedule a tour, contact Cassie Davis at (573) 592-1198 or cassie.davis@williamwoods.edu. Small group tours may be scheduled between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
 
A donation to Callaway County’s Rwanda Community Partnership would be appreciated. The partnership is raising funds to build a women and children’s health clinic and provide other assistance in a remote area of Rwanda. It is country in East Africa recovering from a genocide 15 years ago when nearly a million people were slaughtered in 100 days.