Blogs

Law Wha's Story, Karenni State, Myanmar

March 10, 2023

"Since I started attending this training...I have started to think about Karenni state and how to regain our basic rights, which we have lost.”

Returning home in Uganda

March 7, 2024

Imelda received a resettlement kit that benefited her family as well as extending support to her neighbors.

Gift-a-Smile story 8

January 24, 2024

Ranin is a Palestinian refugee who was born in Lebanon.  She started her career working in different kindergartens around the Wadi Zayne gathering, and after gaining 9 years of experience, she was recruited to be an assistant teacher for the KG2 level at the kindergarten supported by REI.  Now, she teaches Arabic and provides psycho-social […]

Gift-a-Smile story 7

January 18, 2024

We met Khu Shar Reh last summer on our visit to the Thai-Myanmar border. Now a student at KSDC, he is an ex-soldier who fought with the Karenni Army. His strong features suggest his former life as a fighter, but his voice was gentle and his smile was kind. He said he learned about human rights for the first time at […]

Gift-a-Smile story 6

January 10, 2024

Grace is an 18 year old Congolese refugee who arrived in Kenya after surviving a traumatic experience in her home country. She enrolled in the Urban Refugee Project supported by REI and was among the students who completed the literacy course which helped her gain communication skills in Swahili and English. This, along with the psychological […]

Gift-a-Smile story 5

January 5, 2024

To start off 2024, we send you this bright smile from Ali, a pupil at the kindergarten in Wadi Zayne, Lebanon.  The kindergarten not only supports Syrian refugee children in the community but also Lebanese children, like Ali, from poor families to encourage integration in the refugee and host community. Ali and his Syrian friends […]

Gift-a-Smile story 4

December 26, 2023

This summer, we caught up with the women who provide health training to mothers and infants hiding from the Burmese military in the jungles of Myanmar. These brave women cross the border from Thailand to Myanmar risking their own lives walking a dangerous path where they may be captured, step on landmines, or encounter predatory […]

Gift-a-Smile story 3

December 26, 2023

We met Khu Sei Reh this summer during our visit to KSDC on the Thai-Myanmar border. His teachers called him one of their “stars” and we believed it – this 19-year old had a huge smile and an undeniable aura of  confidence.  He told us that his dream is to become a leader in his […]

Gift-a-Smile story 2

December 26, 2023

Seh Mya walked a dangerous path for four days and four nights through the jungles of Myanmar with her brothers  toreach safety across the border in Thailand. Now, she is a student at the Karenni Social Development Center studying subjects like human rights, democracy, English, and leadership. She impressed us with her leadership skills when she led the student […]

Giving December

December 12, 2023

Our target for Giving December is to raise ¥1million. Giving December is an international effort to motivate people to “give back” through their non-profits of choice. With every new crisis in the world, old ones are forgotten, as are the millions who have been displaced for decades.  REI supports these communities and the more you […]

Strength comes from within the community

November 24, 2023

The REI team visit in August 2023 to projects we support on the Thai-Myanmar border yet again introduced us to people who have been empowered through the project activities and now have a role in the community. The projects we support there have gone from strength to strength over the years and this energy comes […]