REFUGEE AND HUMANITARIAN CENTER

We Support

*Human Rights*

 *Family farmers*

*Refugee assistance*

*Poverty eradication*

NESDAC is a charitable, non-profit, non-sectarian, non-governmental, voluntary organization providing assistance to people who are uprooted by war and violence around the world.

NESDAC was formed on the idea that "if you teach a person how to fish, you will have fed him or her for life”. In other words, people are better helped when they are equipped to be able to help themselves on a continuous basis, instead of constantly relying on handouts. From its inception, NESDAC took bold role establishing practical, non-traditional approach to poverty eradication and humanitarian assistance. NESDAC founder, Rev. Roosevelt Tarlesson believes that with his experience with refugees and the poor in U.S. particularly California, that he has an accurate understanding of how to meet the needs of refugees and resource poor. Programs aim at individuals abilities development and improvement, and communities capacities development and improvement at local level will be the most effective and sustainable approach. It is an approach that combines humanitarian assistance and self-development. Additionally, through material and cash assistance, training, education, employment, and income generating programs, we help refugees improve or acquire new skills to become self-reliant.

Goal

The goal is to provide humanitarian relief supplies, and protection for refugees; help alleviate suffering, hunger, poverty or social ills due to war, civil strife, catastrophic or societal constrains. We do this by providing direct material, financial, technical and human resources to individuals and communities.

REFUGEE PROFILE – U.S.:

A refugee is a special category of immigrant defined as a person who has been forced to flee his or her country of origin and has been accepted to live in another country. Refugees face incredible hardships when they arrive here in the United States. In many cases, they have been physically and emotionally traumatized. Often they are forced to leave family members behind, or, in some cases, whole families must adjust to life in a new country. When refugees come to the U.S. they are eligible for the same assistance programs as native citizens, including Cal works/public assistance, food stamps, Medi-Cal, SSI/SSP, housing, employment, job training, child care, educational financial aid, public education, and general relief. Some refugees are from environments and cultural backgrounds that are so distinct from the way of life in the United States that their ability to assimilate successfully is a greater challenge than that experienced by some other refugee populations. Those people resettling in the United States deal with issues of family separation, unfamiliarity with American culture, post-traumatic stress from civil war experience, intergenerational miscommunication and dissatisfaction with the social services options offered to them. Finally, older refugees, refugees with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses, and youth who are not enrolled in school and have little or no family support structure encounter additional difficulties in integrating into the American workforce and American society. These refugees also may experience long-term difficulties in employment and assimilation.