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Refugee Services of Texas's Pat Gatling Education Fund Helps Support the Durable Solutions for the Displaced Program
Lee Abdi, Matching Grant Program Coordinator at Refugee Services of Texas in Dallas, stuffs "Pat's Pig" with another contribution to the Pat Gatling Education Fund.
Photo: Tina Webb/RST
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Refugee Services of Texas (RST) in Dallas, a Church World Service affiliate, has made its first contribution to the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program's Durable Solutions for the Displaced Program (DSDP) from its new Pat Gatling Education Fund.
The $1,000 contribution, along with $1,100 more from two CWS/IRP staff, were used to purchase bicycles for teachers at Kibogora Secondary School in Tanzania's Kibondo Region, a school where Burundian refugee children study next to their Tanzanian hosts.
"Many of the teachers also are refugees and live up to six miles from the school," said IRP Associate Director Erol Kekic, describing the sprawling camps. "Until they got the bicycles, they had no choice but to walk. The bicycles make their commute easier, and as a result help with teacher recruitment and retention."
RST Executive Director Carol Roxburgh established the Gatling Fund earlier this year to honor RST's senior case manager on the occasion of her retirement after 27 years of service. RST raised the first $1,000 from staff, board members, and others.
Additional contributions to the fund also will support post-primary education for refugee youth in Tanzania, a DSDP project being carried out in partnership with the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service.
Post-primary education is rarely available to refugees. CWS supports two high schools and a vocational training center for refugee youths in the Kibondo Region.
Roxburgh said RST is building fundraising for DSDP into other events. For example, on August 27, at a general fundraiser – a "Louisiana Jazz Brunch" – in Austin, a portion of the profits from sale of craft items was designated for the Gatling Fund.
And "Pat's Pig," a piggybank in the RST staff break room, is collecting additional donations on an ongoing basis. "It's pretty full now," Roxburgh commented. "I need to clean it out."
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