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With strengthened financial position, RT has been able to expand its staff and services for clients. In early 2008, we welcomed Zar Ni Maung as a part-time Program Assistant (see profile below) and Tenley Harrison, long-time volunteer and board member, as a consultant for educational programming and grant writing.

This month RT received notification of funding from the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Community Development and will hire a bi-lingual Chinese/English Program Manager to help the agency strengthen services to the Chinese and other Asian communities in San Francisco.

 

Refugee Transitions is proud to welcome Zar Ni Maung as our new Program Assistant. Zar Ni will focus primarily on supporting volunteers and newly arrived refugee families from Burma, linking them to services and providing tutoring for youth. Zar Ni grew up in Rangoon, the former capital of Burma. As a university student, he was active in the student democracy movement.  When the military crackdown began, he and his family had to flee the country. They first fled to Accra, Ghana where they lived for 3.5 years before being resettled in Daly City, CA as political refugees. Zar Ni is active in many Burmese community organizations, and has helped organize numerous events to help raise money and awareness for the Burmese community. He is delighted to be a part of Refugee Transitions, where he will be able to fuel his passion for serving Burmese and other refugee communities. Zar Ni is the proud father of two sons, ages 5 and 2, and in their free time, he and his wife enjoy taking their sons to explore the Bay Area.

We are also excited to welcome three new board members.

Marissa Escalante is a senior paralegal for Park & Taylor, Immigration Attorneys, and has extensive legal knowledge regarding family, asylum, & deportation cases; she is also a Spanish/English translator. Marissa has been an RT volunteer tutor/mentor since February 2006.

Rahul Choraria is a Senior Analyst at Cornerstone Research where he works closely with clients and academic experts to analyze economic and financial issues arising in business litigation. He has been a tutor with RT since February 2007.

In 2007, RT held its 1st summer camp specifically for refugee youth. This year the agency will once again provide over 30 refugee and asylee youth with the opportunity to spend time on the Sonoma Coast and visit the beach, redwoods, and a local Russian fort, learn about local flora and fauna, participate in team-building activities, and have lots of fun!

 

RT will hold a Volunteer/Student Recognition Night on Friday, June 13, 2008 from 6-8 p.m. at the Asian Resource Gallery in downtown Oakland! This is a chance to meet current volunteers and refugee students and recognize their hard work and achievements. We'll send out more details in the coming months. We hope you will join us and invite your friends who are interested in learning more and getting involved!