KaRen Refugees | Starfish Ministries

Testimonials

In 1988, people...protested to the government for democracyâ€¦ They shot many...people with machine guns... Some people were not dead yet, but soldiers picked them up and put them in a trailer mixed with dead people. They caught many people, and sent them to jail.

Many people...escaped to the Thailand-Burma border.

--A KaRen ELL student

New Life Community Center
- a ministry to KaRen refugees

Starfish Ministries is working to provide assistance to KaRen refugees, some of the the newest refugees arriving in Minnesota.

The KaRen are an indigenous group who live primarily in the mountainous regions of Burma, now known as Myanmar, where they are the second-largest ethnic group in the country. The military government is trying to eradicate the people and their culture.

They began arriving in large numbers in 2007 and the numbers continue to grow. Because they come from an agrarian society, the are ill equipped for employment in this country. And, since many of them have been hiding in Myanmar or living in refugee camps in Thailand for decades, they are often illiterate in their own language which makes learning English that much more challenging.

Starfish Ministries is partnering with New Life Christian Reformed Church (CRC), a church now predominantly KaRen, to identify needs, connect refugees with existing resources, and find resources where none currently exist.

New Life Community Center
corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Aracde Street, St. Paul, MN

In January 2010, Starfish Ministries leased office and classroom space within two miles of where many KaRen families live.

In September 2010, we began English as a Second Language (ESL) classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Through the service of many volunteers, we provide childcare and transportation for the students who need them.

In October, Starfish Ministries was able to bring on a KaRen staff person as a link to the community. Together, we are discovering:
    o        the assets which already exist in the KaRen community,
    o        how those assets can be used to help themselves be more self-reliant, and
    o        any employment and other programming they may need.

This year we are offering programs for youth:

-- Homework help for middle and high school students on Tuesdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

-- Math Club for middle and elementary students on Tuesdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

-- Graduation Stand. Prep for high school students on Thursdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

-- Boys Club for 3rd - 8th graders on Thursdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

If you are interested in volunteeering with existing programs, please contact Bonnie Smith at 651-457-2477 or Bonnie@StarfishMN.org or go to ICanHelpTwinCities.com.