The Jamii Project

Doing good has never looked so good. Did you know that a refugee, who was forced to leave his home due to persecution and fear and who has traveled thousands of miles to find a new home in Nashville, created these bags? Today, your purchase of this unique, hand-sewn bag will do more than just put a smile on your face...much more. This bag will create an opportunity for an entire family. Refugees are often considered a forgotten people. Not today. Today, you have chosen to recognize them and support them. Your generosity is empowering these people who truly are our next-door neighbors: empowering them to train others, to gain marketable skills, and to earn extra income to support their families. Together we are fostering a community.

Jamii is the Swahili word for community. Simply put, The Jamii Project is the community project. In the past 15 years, over 5,000 refugees have called Nashville, Tennessee their new home. Now is the time to blur the boundaries between “them” and “us.” Now is the time to create a community.

As we enter into this holiday season, give a gift that gives back: give a gift that fosters Jamii. Pre-order one of our bags by December 15th and receive it just in time for the holidays email us at thejamiiproject@gmail.com

2011 Refugee Ministry Breakfast Banquet

Breakfast Banquet - Save the Date!

African Leadership Breakfast Banquet
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
7:00am - 8:30am
at Covenant Presbyterian Church
33 Burton Hills Blvd., Nashville, TN, 37215 (map here)

If you are interested in hosting a table, please contact Marie-Aimee Abizera:
phone: (615) 595-8238 ext. 244
e-mail: aimee@africanleadershipinc.org

Completion of Polling in the Souther Sudan Referendum

Successful Completion of Polling in the Southern Sudan Referendum

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

January 17, 2011

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The completion of a peaceful, orderly Southern Sudan referendum marks a significant achievement for the Sudanese people and a historic step toward full implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The United States commends the millions of Southern Sudanese people who participated in this historic process, and applauds both northern and southern leaders for creating conditions that allowed voters to cast their ballots freely and without fear, intimidation, or coercion. The successful vote was also a credit to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau, and more than 40 countries and international organizations. We welcome the positive statements issued in recent days by international observer missions from the African Union, Arab League, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, European Union, and the Carter Center.
As we await the official results of the referendum, we reaffirm our commitment to remain a steadfast partner to both parties as they continue to work toward full implementation of the CPA and to develop their post-CPA relationship. The parties have an opportunity to forge a durable peace between the North and the South, and to build positive relationships with the international community. We hope they will seize this moment, and the United States supports their efforts to ensure a peaceful, more prosperous future for all Sudanese.

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF 2011

This blog might be a few days overdue, 18 days to be exact but none the less, Happy New Year :)

This year started with a lot of blessings for our ministry, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that support our ministry financially this past year of 2010. It was not the easiest year to survive as a non-profit, but we are glad that we serve a living God who is in charge of every aspect of our ministry including finances. It's a great relief to know that we can rely on him.

On Sunday, January 9th, We experienced one of the most important day in history here in Nashville. The hundreds of Sudanese resettled here in Nashville gathered the whole day to vote for the referendum that would make Southern Sudan it's own government. We pray that this referendum will bring stability to the region of Southern Sudan and tranquility to the Christian church in that region as it has endured so many years of persecution caused by the Muslim government in the Northern region of the country.
Today was the successful completion of the referendum votes and we'll wait to hear the results.

It was a celebration for many Sudanese from the south all over the world

They all turned out to vote for the independence of the Southern region of Sudan

The Sudanese in Nashville turned out to vote at the Lost Boys gallery in downtown Nashville

Welcome our Eritrean Friends

ESL class meets on Wednesdays 6:00pm 

Volunteers from Cross Point Church with ladies from Eritrea

Learning English is one of the requirements by the US government for the refugees resettled here

We try to keep the ration 2:1 (two students /one teacher) for better learning

Come join us and help refugees assimilate to life here in the Middle Tennessee area by teaching english

More English Classes

Eritrean father with his two daughters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE REFUGEE MINISTRY

To all my fearless & dearest volunteers and all the friends and supporters of our ministry!

I hope that this post finds you well and warm on this beautiful freeezing morning! This is definitely beyond what my african blood can handle, but am slowly learning the art of layering clothes:)

I want to first and foremost thank you for your involvement with our ministry in this year of 2010. It's been one of those unforgettable years, many lessons learned, many blessings shared, but most of all we learned how to depend on God's unchanging hand no matter what's going on around us. Many thanks to you, we were able to accomplish so many things that would have been impossible without your help, your loving hearts and your hard work. So thank you so much for making everything possible for the refugees we serve here in the Middle Tennessee Area.

Incase you have not heard, we've had a few exciting things happen, you can always visit our blog and our website to see more pictures and read more on certain happenings. Many thanks to you, this year we've been able to accomplish the following:

• Summer camp activities and summer activities to 100 refugee kids through out the city of Nashville. This summer, some of our refugee kids enjoyed several different summer activities. Many thanks to the Durrs and their support, some of our kids were apart of the Summer farm camp. They enjoyed playing with the other kids and being with farm animals. It was their first time to see horses and even got  a chance to ride them! So it was definitely the high light of their summer. Many thanks to friends and churches that hosted pool parties for some of the refugee kids we serve as they truly enjoyed themselves.

• Many thanks to J Hager and Covenant Presbyterian Church that supported some of our high schoolers to join their youth group on their mission trip.

• Many thanks to many many volunteers that made our first Run With The Nations 5k race a success in our first year:) I can't be more grateful. Let's gear up again for celebrating the world refugee day and raising awareness for the invisible population in our midst. Plan to join us on June 18th, 2010 at Shelby Bottoms Park for our second year.

• Many thanks to the tireless volunteers that helped us with our first breakfast banquet event. It was a great success and we couldn't have done it without you. This event helped us raise money that is helping most families without jobs during this holiday season.

• This year, we've started receiving a new group of refugees from Eritrea escaping from religious persecution and others from The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) escaping the atrocities taking place in their country. Please pray for peace in the Congo, what's going on there is beyond human understanding.

• Many thanks to all my tutoring volunteers and the ESL volunteers. Your tireless work makes a great impact in the lives of those we serve in a way that you will never fully understand. Without you so many of those we serve would not have been able to navigate life here in Nashville. So We are very very very grateful for all the work that you do.

If you can, join us this Saturday 12/18/2010 at Cross Point Church on Charlotte Pike for a Christmas event for refugee children at 3:00pm. If you are interested in helping email: aimee@africanleadership.org for more information on how you can help. If you are a family and would love to do this as a family activity, you are absolutely more than welcome to do so.

Thank you so much for the great year of 2010, we are looking forward to seeing you again in 2011 :)

Stay warm!

Refugee Ministry Breakfast

images from our first annual breakfast
benefiting the African Leadership Refugee Ministry
November 11, 2010 at Covenant Presbyterian Church

Fall 2010 Intern

Hi, I'm Elle Mihnovich, an intern for the African Leadership after school refugee program.  It is an honor to serve God through this amazing ministry.  I'm a senior in high school and God has given me a heart to serve Him by ministering to disenfranchised people at home and in the world.  It is such a blessing to teach and spend time with the refugee children.  The view of the world that I receive by looking at it though their eyes is beyond comparison.  These children have crossed over to a world that appears to be of comfort, ease and opportunity, but the challenges they face are great.   African Leadership is doing an amazing job preparing them to be productive, contributing members of society, while maintaining their heritage and enriching ours.

PLEASE JOIN US

Hello Hello!

Hello good friends! It's been a while since we last gave you news of what's going on here at the Refugee Ministry! A lot has taken place since you last heard from us and I promise to give you all the scoops in full this week. We have a lot of good news of God's grace to those that we serve and the community of Nashville's been a blessing as well.
Please continue to pray for us as we are struggling financially. It's becoming harder and harder to provide services to those that we serve due to lack of finances. We trust that our God is a good God and our help comes from him. So please join us in prayers.

MORE TO COME, SOON!

Farm Camp!

Ten Thousand Villages partners with us on August 15th

Please pass on the word to your family and friends. Hope to see you then:)

Third Sunday Partner - African Leadership's Refugee Ministry

August 15, 2010


Shop with us from Noon until 5:00 pm to benefit a wonderful ministry, African Leadership's Refugee Ministry!
African refugees have been displaced by war and unrest in places like Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi and Sudan. Surviving decades of massacres, slavery and exploitation practices in their home countries, many fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries such as Tanzania or Kenya. While living in these temporary camps, the United Nations intervened on their behalf and asked the United States to receive them and as a result, thousands of these refugees have relocated to Middle Tennessee.

http://nashville.tenthousandvillages.com

V.B.S Summer 2010: Thanks to Crosspoint Church

The refugee communities of Richland Hills, Timberwood, Cumberland, and Shelby came together for Vacation Bible School with Cross Point Church last week. Children ages 3 to 17 took part in the festivities, and there were great activities for each age group. Each evening was filled with laughter and learning, as the games, arts and crafts, and dancing created a fun, friendly environment. The energy of the Cross Point members was evident, and it really set the tone for an exciting week. Each night began with a funny, interactive skit by the members of Cross Point. After that, the children split up into their groups and alternated between the different activities. Some of their favorite activities included soccer, volleyball, and singing. The main message of the week concerned Everlasting Love and how in spite of our sins, God loves all his children with all his heart. It was very neat to hear the childrens’ thoughts and responses to the passages we read.  One of their favorite passages was the parable in which the two sons inherited their father’s fortune, but one of the sons wasted his fortune right after receiving it.  Even though the wasteful and extravagant son sinned, his father rejoiced when he returned and God still loved him with Everlasting Love. After each group finished every station, we reconvened for music and singing.  The final night concluded with a guitar/singing performance by Isaie, in which he asked us to pray for those living in Africa so that they, too, might live like we do. The children and volunteers both really enjoyed this fun week of Vacation Bible School. We look forward to VBS next summer!

Run With The Nations

On Saturday morning, more than 300 runners gathered at Shelby Bottoms Park to participate in Run with the Nations and celebrate World Refugee Day. Runners started arriving a little before 7:00, and after registering, they began looking around the shops and reading the cultural posters of each nation. The most popular shop was selling African fabric and attire. The refugee groups arrived soon after, and the Bhutanese, Burmese, Iraqi, Somali, and Burundian refugees were taken to their respective villages along the racecourse.

As the runners gathered at the starting line, William Mwizerwa, the director of Refugee Ministry, and Larry Warren, the founder of African Leadership, both made speeches expressing their sincere thanks and gratitude to the runners for their continued support of the refugees of Middle Tennessee.

As the gun was fired and the runners took off, it began to rain, but no weather could interfere with this event. Runners passed by five different refugee villages, and the villages cheered loudly as the runners passed by. Catherine Higham, a race participant, said after the race, “The Burundian village was really special because they all formed a line and gave the runners high-fives as they ran by.” Several of the villages returned to the finish line in time to form a tunnel for the runners as they completed the race. After the race, the race participants, organizers, and refugees came together again and continued the celebration.

We would like to thank all the runners for supporting African Leadership, World Relief, and the refugees of Middle Tennessee as we celebrated World Refugee Day. Your support means everything to us, and we could not have done any of this without you. Look for us next year for the second annual Run with the Nations 5K.

- RWTN team