Americans Partner with African Refugees in Zambian Camps

April 2007: Three teams of Americans are developing a variety of life-enrichment projects for three refugee camps in Zambia, Africa. After 7 months of intensive education, training, and development with FORGE, they will spend two months this summer in the camps, working with the refugees to create results that the UN has called, "a miracle in the middle of the bush."

As Project Facilitators with FORGE-a United Nations partner organization- the teams develop projects that will harness resources and provide education through partnership with refugees. Two of this year's FORGE projects include a repatriation institute that offers business training for repatriating Congolese refugees and an HIV/AIDS initiative that uses soccer as a tool for teaching about the disease.

"This is an especially important time for many of the refugees we work with," says Kjerstin (pronounced SHARE-stin) Erickson, the 23-year-old founder and Executive Director of FORGE. "As these refugees return to their home countries, they have a unique opportunity to rebuild and ensure that the events that caused them to flee in the first place will never occur again. This is about Africa building from the bottom up. America was founded on individuals harnessing resources, taking initiative, and building sustainable businesses. That's happening on the African continent and we want to be a part of it."

With a volunteer workforce that includes Rhodes Scholars, successful businesspeople, and renowned humanitarians, FORGE combines the power of westerners and refugees. "refugees have staggering desire, drive, and capability, and the kind of local knowledge that westerners don't," says Erickson. "While their home countries are at war, refugees often have little to do but wait. But when paired with the resource-rich and experienced workers that FORGE has on our teams, refugees can gain the skills and backing they need to rebuild when they return home."