Here it is the very First Issue of the Magazine edited by RESPECT REFUGEES International that includes the most important articles from the E-zines published in 2009 and the beginning of 2010.

Hope you will enjoy reading the magazine and you will share this with your friends.

We’s like to thank the Authors of this issue:

Shannon Alderman

Raja M Ali

Maria Brundin

Trish Harris

Kenneth Karest Lewela

Abby Jenkins Macedo

Paulo Muller

Laura Premoli

Mohammed Riazuddin

Suzan Salem

Linda Salim

Marc Schaeffer

Kirsty Semple

Uma Sharma

Olivia Wallace

Atuu Waonaje

Barny Whitwham

To Dowload this Issue, click here

[ http://issuu.com/enjoythemarket/docs/respect ]

Amazon.com book drive

All proceedings from book sales will be donated to RESPECT International. RESPECT (Refugee Education Sponsorship Program) is an apolitical, international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Worldwide networks of like-minded people who help each other, educate each other, and grow together.

The organization stands for:

1. Raise awareness on refugee issues among youth by providing educational communities worldwide with information, training and resources.

2. Build bridges between youth from refugee schools and non-refugee schools through letter exchange and beyond.

3. Take actions in helping refugees by organizing awareness-raising events to educate others on refugee issues and to raise funds for partner refugee school.

http://www.amazon.com/shops/A3N8UG8SH1IB96

Have you ever wondered where RESPECT International has its headquarters? Or how to become a RESPECT volunteer?

These and other important questions are answered in RESPECT’s newly published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Take some time to learn more about RESPECT and its Global Letter Exchange. There is a separate FAQ with information for refugee schools and non-refugee schools.

What if your question isn’t answered? Then email it to our webmaster and he will make sure you get an answer and will add the question to the FAQ.

As part of an ongoing commitment to improving the lives of refugees across the globe, RESPECT is looking to implement a project allowing sponsor schools to support their partner refugee communities by raising funds to purchase a Sun Oven.

Sun ovens are an environmentally-friendly device used to harness solar power to provide cooking facilities. They are manufactured by Sun Ovens International from Elburn, Illinois, USA.

Deforestation is a major issue worldwide, threatening not only the global environment, but the very existence of the 2 billion people worldwide who rely on wood and charcoal to prepare their food. Women often have to spend hours every day scavenging for enough wood to cook for their entire family, or to boil unsanitary water.

In areas where a large refugee influx has occurred, this problem is multiplied tenfold, as thousands of families compete for this valuable natural resource. In areas around refugee camps, the deforestation process can occur at a frightening rate. 25% of Africa is now deforested, leaving vast tracts of land useless for cultivation purposes. In Haiti, the figure stands at 90%.

The effects of stripping the land are devastating. Not only does deforestation increase the risk of landslides and avalanches during the rainy season, but the smoke produced from the hundreds of small cooking fires contributes to respiratory infections, tuberculosis and cancer.

Sun Ovens provide a clean and safe alternative. Once set up, a Sun Oven, essentially a large metal box with panels that focus the suns rays into the cooking area, has no running costs. The small ovens can cook meals for a family of up to 8 people, while the large ‘Villager’ ovens can provide up to 1,200 meals a day and save 384,000 pounds of wood a year.

Such is the appeal of the sun oven to environmentalists that even people in the US have started to use the smaller version. Las Vegas resident, Mike Little, began using a Sun Oven in preparation for potential Y2K issues, and has never stopped. Little uses his several times a week to prepare bread, rice and meat, and is now trying to raise the profile of the device amongst his fellow citizens.

“I want to raise awareness so that local agencies can get involved,” Little said, while demonstrating the Villager Solar Oven at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Earth Day celebration on April 10. “When you’re doing something for the environment you’re doing something for people.”

Worldwide, 2,500 small ovens and 250 large ovens are in use. These ovens are proving invaluable to refugee communities, not only taking away the need to toil collecting fuel, but providing income to those refugee communities who are using the ovens to bake bread for sale in the wider community.

RESPECT coordinator, Marc Schaeffer, feels raising funds to purchase these ovens for communities would be a worthwhile addition to RESPECT’s work. “We hope to introduce this idea to our sponsor schools, and also put the ovens up on our e-store. We are going to propose the idea to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and refugee communities to see if they would be interested in receiving a sun oven. From there, it’s simply a matter of raising the funds,” he said.

A small sun oven costs $299USD, while the larger version, which can support an entire community, and provide jobs and valuable skills, costs $10,000USD. A great deal of fundraising will be required to bring this project to fruition, but the concrete benefits for refugee communities are clear.

The beauty of this project is that by donating funds to help the communities, donors are also helping themselves. Deforestation, and the resulting changes to the global climate, is an issue affecting us all, and every sun oven operating in the field will help preserve the future of the planet.

kindly written by Michael Logan

Respect International

The following letter was submitted to RESPECT International from the principal of the Calvary Baptist Church School in Monrovia, Liberia, seeking help to rebuild its system.

To Whom It May Concern

The Calvary Baptist Church School System was established in 1964 by a group of Mid-Baptist Missionaries from the United States of America, who two years earlier established the Calvary Baptist Church.

The purpose of establishing the school was threefold:

1. To provide kids with a strong foundation in reading, writing, and speaking.
2. To impact sound Biblical training as a basis upon which spiritual and moral foundation of kids can be built.
3. To cater to the educational needs of the Children of church members.

Liberian School System

RESPECT International continues to dedicate all the resources possible to improve the education of refugee students.  In order to help more people there is a need for more resources.  To find out ways in which you can help please visit our website.  http://www.respectrefugees.org/

The Afghan Women’s Educational Centre (AWEC) is a non-political, non-profit and non-governmental organization established in 1991. Educated Afghan women started this organization in order to provide facilities for Afghan refugees in Islamabad Pakistan.

Their vision is “Establishing an environment where women and children can have their human rights without any violence and discrimination, apply a strengthened civil society based on democracy, justice and gender equality.”

RESPECT is collaborating with AWEC to provide post-secondary education to promising students in Afghanistan. This provides AWEC with access to RESPECTs knowledge and resources in order to enhance their knowledge. Therefore, the students gain an edge when competing for places in educational institutions or jobs. This collaboration is especially aimed at helping improve the living condition of the marginalised group of women and street-working children.

Ernest Bugumba was born in Uvira, South Kiivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1988 Ernest survived only on rain water as he walked for a week to a refugee camp after he escaped a massacre in Makabola, Uvira. He completed his education in the Republic of South Africa, gaining a diploma in Information Technology. He believes in positive thinking and the power of encouraging and inspiring youths.

Today he is the founder and executive secretary of Assembly of Good News for all Nations Youth (AGNY) which is a refugee organisation for children and youths in Republic of South Africa. The organisation aims to educate refugee children from a variety of African countries to empower and prepare them for the future.

Ernest plans to expand the organisation by setting up a computer centre for refugee children and youth to help with their training and education. He also plans to work with RESPECT in a cultural letter exchange with the students. This gives them the opportunity to exchange stories and make friends, giving them hope for a better future.

He also wants to help refugees who are disabled, affected by HIV/AIDS and living with the effects of xenophobic attacks despite the challenges of not having enough resources like computers, study materials or finance.