MEDIA RELEASE

June 10, 2010

Contacts: Susan Mayberger, Omaha Public Schools
World Refugee Day Chairperson
(402) 557-2431 or susan.mayberger@ops.org

Carol Tucker, Lutheran Family Services
(402) 536-3518 or ctucker@lfsneb.org

Pre-event and day-of-event interviews available with Susan Mayberger, World Refugee Day Chairperson or Khalif Hassan, Co-chair of the Refugee Taskforce of Omaha

Public invited to World Refugee Day
celebration June 19

Omaha, Neb. – The Refugee Task Force of Omaha and the Omaha Public Schools present the annual World Refugee Day celebration Saturday, June 19, 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 a parade of flags, an educational program on refugee issues, musical and dance performances by various refugee groups, lunch, vendors with hand-made items, a fashion show, awards ceremony, children’s carnival and athletic events. The planning committee is anticipating over 1,400 participants.

The program begins at 10 a.m. with a parade of flags and welcome from Omaha Public Schools, Southern Sudan Community Association, Somali Bantu Association, Karen Society of Nebraska, Lutheran Family Services and the International Center of the Heartland. There will be a dance presentation by the International Day Care children, local refugee presentations, a Sudanese Choir performance and festive dances by the Karen and Somali Bantu Communities.  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. 

An awards ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. with a fashion show to follow.  Countries represented include Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burma (Karen), Uganda, Bhutan, Ghana,Somalia, Togo, Burundi, Iraq and Kenya. 

World Refugee Day sponsors include the Refugee Task Force of Omaha, Omaha Public Schools, Lutheran Family Services, Southern Sudan Community Association, Tyson Meats, Wells Fargo, No Frills Supermarkets, ConAgra, Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services, Justman Brush Company and Nebraska Methodist College among others.