The following article is courtesy of Nadia Hussein, originally published on her blog Us Ordinary People.

I’ve been interested in learning more about the Karen people from Burma ever since my adopted parents, Michael Shafer and Evelind Schecter, established a nonprofit called Warm Heart Worldwide that works primarily with Karen people in Northern Thailand. The Karen (pronounced kah-REN) are a minority group that has faced and continues to face intense political oppression from the Burmese military government, causing many of them to escape to the Thai/Burma border as refugees. The border has thousands of Karen who populate several different camps along the border.

Just days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 30,000 Japanese lives, CHAA and its partners raised over $3500 for relief efforts through the 1000 Peace Cranes event on March 19.

Hosted by CHAA, the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC), and Friends of TANC at the New Tibetan Community Center in Richmond, the fundraiser featured an opportunity for community members to donate to the Japan Relief Fund and fold paper cranes while listening to a message of hope and acceptance from keynote speaker and Hiroshima survivor Takashi Tanemori.

While growing up in her hometown of Kolomotu’a in Tonga, Loa Niumeitolu witnessed that many families in her homeland did not have money for food, clothing, or education. Despite a childhood filled with relatives and friends, she and her family were forced to find work internationally as Tonga underwent the transition from subsistent to capitalist society.

In collaboration with more than 15 agencies, CHAA and its partners hosted the first annual Multicultural Health and Wellness Fair at Oakland’s Clinton Park on December 4, 2010. With more than 150 attendees, the fair featured primary health screenings, wellness activities and multicultural performances, and provided interpretation in 16 languages to make the event accessible to a diverse community audience.

 Celebrating its seventh year as hosts, Southeast Asian Young Leaders (SEAYL) attracted more than 300 attendees to the West County Youth Stopping Violence event on October 16th. Held at Lovonya DeJean Middle School, the day featured motivational speakers, performers, and workshops promoting the creation of a safer and healthier community while spreading a message of peace and unity to youth.

By Matt O’Brien
The Oakland Tribune

Refugees who once harvested food in the foothills of the Himalayas and the lush fields of Southeast Asia are nourishing a garden culture in the flatlands of East Oakland.

Their first crop is emerging this fall from a fenced-in plot off 11th Avenue, crammed between a basketball court and a grove of old palm trees.

Nwe Oo is quite familiar with the daily obstacles faced by Oakland’s Burma refugee population. Born on the Burma-Bangladesh border and a longtime resident of Thailand, she has experienced the challenges of transitioning to life in a foreign urban environment from a rural war-torn society. 

More than 300 attendees celebrated and promoted the awareness of Bay Area refugees on June 20th during Oakland’s annual World Refugee Day picnic in San Antonio Park. Held the same weekend as UNHCR’s World Refugee Day, the picnic featured speeches, performances, and international cuisines by members of the refugee community. 

Nine months ago, a group of five graduate students embarked on a journey to learn what it takes to become a professional mental health clinician. After completing CHAA’s rigorous internship program in June, those students are leaving more prepared, focused, and confident for the next stages of their careers.

Cambodian women in Oakland now have an opportunity to identify and address areas for improvement in their community with the help of CHAA’s new Cambodian Women’s Health Project. Designed to promote wellness in the Cambodian community, the two-year program is co-led by Prevention Research Center (co-lead agency and research partner) and community host partners Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI) and Cambodian Community Development, Inc. (CCDI).