About
Women’s Refugee Care (WRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing services and support to refugee families from the Great Lakes Region of Africa (Congo, Burundi and Rwanda) - referred to as ECGLC[1] - who reside in Rhode Island. Based on the belief that strong and informed women and mothers promote healthy and productive families and communities, WRC has a special focus on women, girls and promoting gender equality.
Vision
WRC’s vision is for every ECGLC Refugee family served by WRC in Rhode Island to have their basic needs covered and participate fully in society on an equal basis with non-refugee families.
Mission
● To facilitate the transition for ECGLC Refugees to life in the United States by helping them become self-sufficient and productive members of American society, while maintaining their cultural and ethnic identities.
● To support ECGLC Refugee women and mothers through health and education to promote the advancement of their families and their community.
● To promote gender equality in the ECGLC Refugee community.
● To advocate for the needs of refugees at the local, state and federal levels.
● To serve as a resource for agencies and groups to foster a greater understanding of the refugee community in the state of Rhode Island.
How does WRC achieve its mission? Overview of WRC Programs
Women’s Empowerment Program: Acknowledging women are the foundation of the AGL community, WRC takes specific actions to ensure they are informed and empowered to lead strong families and create healthy communities. WRC facilitates peer-to-peer support groups for women from the community over the age of 28. Through the groups, the women have the opportunity to build a supportive community and receive key information about health and hygiene, food, safety and American culture that they can transfer to their families and friends.
Welcome Program: WRC provides immediate support and necessary items for refugees when they first arrive in RI to help with their transition into the US. For example, they greet the refugees at the airport upon arrival, in cooperation with RI resettlement agencies, to ensure there is someone who speaks their local language and answer any questions they may have; they provide a home cooked meal from their region to help them relax and start to heal from their long and often stressful journeys; they provide them with essential household items, toiletries and clothing; and they conduct regular home visits. WRC runs an independent clothing pantry run solely on donations.
Mentoring Program: WRC pairs up refugee families when they arrive in RI with local volunteers with the aim to help the family transition into their new country. The mentors provide a friendly face, healthy social interaction, introductions to new cultural activities and customs, as well as teach them new life skills. The mentoring relationship lasts 6 months.
Education Program: WRC works to assist families so that every refugee child from the Congo is in school and learning. This work entails sensitizing school administrators and teachers on the unique background of refugee children. It also involves educating parents and children newly arrived in the US about the education system, enrollment procedures, and what expectations there are for the children in school. WRC will also be a student’s advocate with a school, if the parents are not in a position to do so because of language or lack of understanding of their child’s rights. Further work includes providing tutoring support to children.
Volunteers
WRC relies on the dedication of volunteers to operate. If you are interested in getting involved and donating your time or resources, please email info@womensrefugeecare.org
[1] This group of countries is officially known as the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) or in French Communauté Économique des Pays des Grand Lacs (CEPGL).
