WORLD REFUGEE DAY - Humanizing the World Refugee Crisis

THE UNITED NATIONS COMMEMORATES THE STRENGTH, COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE OF MILLIONS OF REFUGEES.

Part of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights series, this program will address UDHR Articles 6: right to recognition as a person before the law, 14: right to asylum in other countries, and SDG #10: reduced inequality and #3: good health and well-being.

Program Details

Moderator:

Lina Lenberg, has been an educator for 20 years and is a doctoral student in Human Rights Education at USF. She is also a Northern California representative for HRE-USA and a UNA SF Board Member.

Panelists:

Jen Jastrab received her MFA in visual arts from John F. Kennedy University. She is a Youth and Volunteer Program Coordinator at the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI). Since 2011 she has been honored to serve Cambodian youth and their families. Her work with traumatized youth inspired her to begin Trauma Informed Expressive Arts training. She looks forward to advancing her skills in therapeutic arts to help her clients heal from the effects of chronic poverty, physical and sexual violence, addiction, and sexual exploitation.

Sreyneang Lim emigrated from Cambodia to the United States in 2000. She received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She is an Outreach Coordinator, Case Manager, and a Youth Mentor at Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI). She is proud to represent CERI as a mental health community advocate for traumatized Cambodian families, who are survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide, and youth.

Mokhtar Mohamed is the Advocacy Committee Chair of the United Nations Association SF Chapter. He was born and raised in Yemen. He came to the U.S. in 2006 and pursued a degree in International Relations from San Francisco State University. Mokhtar’s experience includes working with Yemeni migrants, refugees, survivors of violence and victims of human trafficking at the UNHCR Refugee Camp in Djibouti, as well as helping them to resettle and regain control of their lives.

Gabriel Akim Nyok is from South Sudan. He grew up in an UNHCR Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya. As an orphan in the camp, Gabriel received a scholarship from UNICEF to attend school in Kenya. After graduating from high school he went back to the camp and worked as a teacher. Gabriel immigrated to the Bay Area in 2006. He currently is a student at San Jose State University with a major in Justice Studies and a minor in Human Rights. He hopes to use his degree to continue to work for healing among South Sudanese populations around the world. He would ultimately like to build a high school in South Sudan to provide a space for children to go to school.

Jane Pak is an adjunct faculty member in the Master in Nonprofit Administration program at the University of San Francisco (USF). She simultaneously pursues her doctorate degree in International and Multicultural Education, with a concentration in Human Rights Education. Jane serves on the Board of Directors of Refugee Transitions, where she previously served as Director of Strategy and Development; and is a regional representative for Human Rights Educators USA. Jane holds a BMATH from the University of Waterloo (Canada), MBA from Clarkson University, and MA in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Program Partners: American Legion Post 315, UNA-USA Marin County Chapter

Program Sponsors: Refugee Transitions, Center for Empowering Refugees & Immigrants (CERI)

Created by: Ouarda Ismahan El-Frih