The Six Star Refugee Partnership
The Six Star Refugee Partnership was formed by a group of Atlanta churches to help refugee families resettle in Atlanta. The group helps up to two families at any one point in time and works with those families for two years and beyond. Six Star furnishes the apartments by providing furniture and initial supplies, provides transportation to medical appointments, offers employment assistance, homework assistance for the school children, English tutoring for adults, and other guidance during the process of assimilation into American culture.
Morningside’s participation:
The Six Star Refugee Partnership provides volunteer opportunities for a wide variety of skills and interests.
When new families arrive, we collect household goods and volunteers to set up the apartment. We are also involved in tutoring both children and adults. At the end of two years, when the families move into their own homes, they take all of the furnishings with them — down to the last fork — in order to give them a good head start.
Update on our current families — We currently are assisting two families from Myanmar (Burma). The Kyaw Htoo family consists of mom and dad, and two boys, ages 6 and 3. They have some relatives in Atlanta and are assimilating very well. We also accepted an additional Burmese family in July because they were "in crisis" having experienced a series of back to back tragedies. The Eh Khaw Htoo family consists of mom and dad and five children ages 16, 12, 9, 6 and six months. Our assistance has been a great stabilizing factor for them. Both of these families are Christians from the Karen ethnic group, which is from a remote part of Myanmar. They are among the most persecuted people in the world, according to groups that measure such statistics. We are hoping to receive another family during the summer of 2013.
How you can get involved:
Since most of us will never be official ambassadors to another country, we can each build our own small bridge to another country and culture by helping a family resettle here. The relationships that are forged extend far beyond just a contact with one family. That family tells their family back home about the kind and helpful Americans they have met, and that one little bridge toward better understanding between countries is built ... and so it goes with each person, each act of generosity and caring. Please consider donating your time or goods.
Current volunteer needs — We always need volunteers to help with transportation to appointments and grocery shopping, and tutors for the school age children to help with their homework. No experience is required. In addition, within the next few months we will be seeking donations of furniture and household items to furnish the apartment for our next family. We encourage you to visit Six Star Refugee Partnership's website to learn more about the organization, their work and success stories.
Whom to contact:
For any questions about what is needed or to donate, please contact either Holly Campbell at 404.233.0045 or hollycampbell1@gmail.com, or Sarah Chatel at 770.434.4588 or smchatel@gmail.com.
