Imagine young, engaged, empowered refugees working hard towards an education, actively taking part in their families and communities, then turning around and helping the next group of newly arrived refugee youth to find their way in America. 

This is the vision of Moses Rain, a Burmese refugee who has been in the U.S. just one year, which he has already set in motion. As an employee of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), a former refugee, and a community advocate for the Burmese population here in Portland, Rain quickly recognized a need for the youth of his community to get out of their apartments, plugged into their communities and encouraged towards a brighter future.

To this end Rain, with the help of other volunteers and colleagues at IRCO and in the City of Portland, has organized a youth development group called Stars of the Future working with over eighty Burmese refugee youth, ages fourteen to nineteen.  He arranges outings of volunteerism, social engagement and educational instruction. Also available to the group are seminars crafted to expand their world-views, inform them on life in America and the importance of an education.

Because the youth come from a society and refugee camps where they learned to fear all people in uniforms and in which women are not encouraged to become educated or expect professional jobs, on June 20th the group visited the East Precinct offices of the Portland Police Bureau.  Commander Mike Crebs talked to them, showed them the police cars and let them sit in his chair in the commander’s office.  Officer Doris Paisley also addressed the youth and told them of her 17-year career as a woman officer, and shared with them her current high salary level.

The next day a group of about 70 youth volunteered at the Sunday Parkways venue where they helped with traffic and crowd control, helped reunite lost children with their parents, and other acts of community service.

On July 11th, the youth met at the IRCO community center and heard from speakers representing the Asian community on issues of life as a refugee in America, and the opportunities and pitfalls ahead of them. 
Saturday, August 8, 2009, they  toured of the Oregonian news room and KGW-TV news for the purpose of planting a vision of someday working as journalists.  On Saturday, August 15th they will tour Portland City Hall and Oregon State University.

Additional planned outings include 2 days of additional volunteer projects, a trip to the library for assistance in acquiring library cards and learning about library resources, and an educational workshop for both youth and parents on how to successfully navigate the American educational system.
 

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