Christian Fuchs's blog

The Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) told Jesuit Refugee Service recently that the flow of refugees from Somalia into the Dollo Ado area has increased from about 300 a week to 1,000 a week. The influx is blamed on the al-Shabaab militant group. Refugees told JRS last month that the militants force rural Somalis to make a harsh choice: give up a son to join the fighters, or pay the militants off with camels or cash.

(Anse-à-Pitres, Haiti) January 13, 2012 — Two-hundred and forty students in this Haitian community have moved from a dilapidated building and outdoor desks protected only by tarps to a new school complex.

(Los Cacaos, Haiti) January 12, 2012 — Two years after an earthquake struck Haiti the community of Los Cacaos has demonstrated what happens when neighbors work together to solve a problem. Fresh, clean water is now available to 700 families thanks to the community’s commitment to build a positive foundation for long-term improvements.

August 17, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) — The Jesuit Refugee Service Emergency Needs Program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, serves the needs of asylum-seekers and refugees from Somalia and elsewhere in Africa who seek to escape famine, war and persecution in their homelands. The program was established in 1997, initially as a parish outreach program, and became the ENP in 2004.

Learn more about the Emergency Needs Program on the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA website.

July 26, 2011 — In the midst of one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent times affecting the Horn of Africa, Jesuit Refugee Service has announced plans to step up ongoing work for Somalis in Ethiopia and Kenya, and establish new services in the former.