The JFCS/East Bay is looking forward to the arrival of a 48-year-old Ugandan gay refugee fleeing persecution in his home country. After being brutally assaulted by a mob in Uganda due to his sexual orientation, he fled to Kenya, where he has been staying since 2009, waiting for resettlement in the United States. He speaks English and, despite having been through so much, has a lot of optimism and is looking forward to starting a new life in the Bay Area.
Thankfully, he already has initial housing secured with a host family in Oakland. We are now looking to put together a group of volunteers who will help welcome him to the Bay Area and assist with the tasks of resettlement -- such as accompanying him to social services and medical appointments, helping him to deal with paperwork, and generally get oriented and learn about life in his new community. He will also need assistance with his written English. JFCS/East Bay staff will be integrally involved with his resettlement and will provide training and ongoing support for volunteers.
The commitment for each volunteer will be in the range of 2-5 hours/week, though some weeks may not include any needs at all. We are hoping for at least a 6-month commitment from our volunteer team. If you're interested, please reply as soon as possible to Kathryn Winogura, our volunteer coordinator, at kwinogura@jfcs-eastbay.org. And if you know of other individuals or networks that should know about this opportunity, please feel free to pass the word along.
Kol Tuv,
Rabbi Creditor
