Refugee Appeal - August 2021
Misery “by the numbers”
In this broken world, 1 out of every 95 people has been forced to flee their home---and many cannot go back. Let that sink in….
In round numbers, lives displaced by manmade disasters (like war) or natural ones (like volcanoes) are 82.4 million: that is slightly less than the entire population of Germany…. or more than 4 times the population of the Netherlands. Need to bring that a bit closer to home? Think the citizens of California + Texas + Ohio running for their lives.
Some flee to other parts of their own country---we call them “displaced.” If they cross borders, they become “refugees.” Within both groups, 50% are children.
68% of those refugees come from only 5 countries: Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. If you identified those first three countries as being places where Outreach has historic partnerships, you would be right. This is family for us…
What often makes the situation for refugees more critical is that they are most likely to flee to places least able to help them---neighboring countries that are, themselves, lacking in resources. In fact, only 14% of refugees are hosted in fully developed nations, like ours.
The word “refugee” does not actually appear in the Bible, but there are ample equivalents, such as “the stranger” and “the foreigner.” And you all know what God requires of those who encounter them. Oh, and you DO know a really famous “refugee” from Scripture…here’s a hint: when, as an infant, his life was in danger, his father was told in a dream, “take the young child and his mother and flee to Egypt…”
Often, the nightly news gives us the “heads up” of where we will likely need to respond next as we watch the unfolding of wars, political upheavals, terrorist threats, or religious persecutions. At other times, disasters “sneak up” like the volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in late May, which displaced almost a quarter of a million—many of them crossing into Rwanda where our Presbyterian Church partners have received them but now urgently need our help.
Over the years, your generous gifts have allowed us to empower the Church in places like Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Sudan to minister to those who “have sought refuge” in their midst: providing food and medicine, shelter, trauma counseling, job training, educational opportunities, discipleship training, and Bibles. A very small percentage of those refugees or displaced persons have been able to return home or to immigrate. Most remain in the places to which they fled, trying their best to cobble together a “new life” for themselves and their families. In the best scenarios, it has been the Church that has offered them, through its compassion, service, and witness, a “hope and a future” from a loving God who understands their misery through the Son who lived it in his death.
May those whom our resources undergird continue to be seen by those whom they serve as a reflection of Christ,
Marilyn Borst
Associate Director for Partnership Development
Read more about the Refugee Appeal HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $50,000 to provide resources for partners who are bringing hope and healing in Christ’s name. You may make a gift to the Refugee Appeal HERE or by sending a check to our office.