MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2008

Contact: Jane Simpson, Director of Public Relations, Lutheran Family Services, (402) 978-5646, cell (402) 690-7344 or jsimpson@lfsneb.org

Contact: Carol Tucker, Resource & Capacity Coordinator, Lutheran Family Services, (402) 536-3518, cell (402) 201-3958 or ctucker@lfsneb.org

Contact: Susan Mayberger, World Refugee Day Chairperson, (402) 557-2431

Pre-event and day-of-event interviews available with Kitcki Carroll, Director of Community Services, Lutheran Family Services and World Refugee Day Spokesperson (402) 346-6100 or kcarroll@lfsneb.org

Public invited to World Refugee Day celebration June 21

Omaha, Neb. – The Refugee Task Force of Omaha presents the annual World Refugee Day celebration Saturday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Benson High School, 5120 Maple Street in Omaha. The event, free and open to the public, is to educate the community on refugee issues and celebrate cultural diversity. Omaha is home to thousands of refugees from various parts of the world.

The day will include an educational program on refugee issues, musical and dance performances by different refugee groups, lunch, vendors with hand-made items, a job fair, vision and glaucoma screenings, a fashion show, awards ceremony, children’s carnival and athletic events. The planning committee is anticipating 1,000 participants.

The program begins at 10 a.m. with a parade of flags and welcome from Janelle Mullen, Assistant Superintendent in Curriculum and Learning of Omaha Public Schools and Tor Kuet of the Southern Sudan Community Association. There will be a dance presentation by the International Day Care children, local refugee presentations and festive dances by the Karen and Hmong Communities. Children’s activities include face painting, bouncy castle, clowns, story book center, Mexican art projects and games. At 11:30 educational panels include stories by refugees and asylees about political situations and the process of how refugees come to the U.S. Panelists are from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Burma. Additional presentations will be about the Darfur situation, supporting education in the Southern Sudan, the process for sponsoring a refugee family and discussions on refugee mental health issues. Topics include post traumatic stress syndrome, trauma, adjustment issues and ways the community can support refugees.

An awards ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. with a fashion show, dance and educational presentation to follow. Countries represented include Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burma (Myanmar), Somalia, Togo, Burundi, Iraq and Kenya. Volleyball and soccer games conclude the activities.

World Refugee Day sponsors include Lutheran Family Services, Omaha Public Schools, Tyson Fresh Meats, Wells Fargo, No Frills Supermarkets, Marriott Omaha, Crowne Plaza, Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services, Justman Brush Company and Blanket Barons, Inc.