David Choate, Refugee Program Coordinator, Refugee Cooperative Services (RCS), presented a two-part program for the Coordinating Team on April 2, 2005.

In the first half, he explained the agency's work and mission. RCS is a blending of two agencies' work in Iowa on behalf of refugees -- Lutheran Services in Iowa and Catholic Charities. The three agency locations in Iowa are Des Moines, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. RCS provides initial resettlement services for refugees who have fled their country for fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, political opinion or social group. Refugees, as Choat pointed out, are different from persons immigrating to the US. Some refugees come to join family members. Others have no family in the US and don't know anyone.

Each year the president and congress determine the number of refugees who may come into the country.  Prior to 9/11, approximately 70,000 refugees came to the US annually. Choate said that since 9/11, the number is closer to 50,000. His agency now assists approximately 8-12 a month. Refugees come to Iowa from many countries including  Afghanistan, Bosnia, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and Vietnam.

Among the services RCS provides are the following: locating an apartment; providing complete furnishings and household goods; enrolling children in school; finding employment for adults; completing a physical examination; obtaining a Social Security card and food stamps; providing case management during the first four months after arrival; linking them with community members who assist with community resources and lifestyle adaptations.

He said that nearly 60 to 70 percent of the refugees are illiterate when they arrive because they have had very little or no formal education while living in the refugee camps. It can take a person several years to a lifetime to manage to leave the refugee camps for another country and life is extremely difficult while they are in the camps. They lack adequate food and housing, clean water and sanitation in addition to receiving little or no education.

Choate's knowledge and expertise regarding refugees and their needs stems, in part, from his own experience as a refugee from Sudan. It took nearly 11 years from the time he left his home to come to the US. During those years, he spent time in various refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. He completed his education at Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University.

Choate described the many volunteer opportunities available for assisting refugees including helping a family with transportation, tutoring, mentoring and shopping. Each Thursday afternoon at the University Avenue location, volunteers assist refugees in filling out job applications and other forms.

In the second half of the program, Choate told about the history of the wars and unrest in Sudan as well as about the current situation. With the exception of the years 1972-1983, Sudan was at war from 1955 until the most recent peace agreement was signed in January of this year. In the second war alone, more than 2.5 million people were killed and thousands of refugees fled to other countries.

The recent agreement calls for a six-year interim period in which South Sudan is to establish a self-administered government. After the six year period, the South will vote to decide whether they will remain in the country or become a separate country. Choate said the it was the international community who intervened in the warn-torn country and who divided the resources more equally between the North and the South and who now continue peace monitoring at the border.

For more information about Refugee Cooperative Services, go to www.lsiowa.org. The next scheduled coordinating team working meeting will be May 14. They will host another program meeting in June.

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