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At the farm

Idée acf2806:

THE KAREN FARM

Affichée le novembre 1, 2009

  • Auteur : Coleen Scott
  • Endroit : Ottawa, Ontario
  • Catégorie : Favorisez le bien-être
  • Coût : À moyen budget (10 000 $ à 50 000 $)

I am trying to find support for refugees who have initiated and committed to ideas that will provide ways for them to work and not become receipents of social welfare programs, or, as they put it, "Eat the governments money".

THE KAREN FARM

The purpose of the Karen Farm is to provide opportunities for Karen refugees, new to Canada, to become productive, independent, contributing members of their new community. This will also enable them to build self-esteem and foster pride in their culture through the realization that they bring worthwhile skills with them. Skills that have value and can be used to create a new life for themselves and their families.

Who are the Karen People?

The Karen People are an ethnic minority group from Burma. They began to arrive in Canada three years ago. Most had never been outside of the small villages where they lived working as subsistent farmers. That is, until the brutal miltary junta that rules Burma burnt the Karen People out of their villages and forced them into hiding in the jungle. Some survived the the jungle, only to find that their new life was that of a refugee confined in camps on the Thai side of the Burma/Thai border. The Karen have lived in these camps for up 20 years with no hope and no future. Finally, in 2006, the UNHRC was able to open doors for some to re-settle to other countries. Canada was one of the countries that came forward to accept the Karen people for re-settlement.
When the Karen arrived in Ottawa they asked for only two things. One is to find them a place to live and the other is to find them a job. However, with virtually no English skills this second request is much more difficult to fulfill.

Ethnic Karen farmers are using the farming skills they brought with them from a perilous existence in Burma and Refugee camps in Thailand to restart their lives in Ottawa. "Use the skills you have, work hard and you will find success". With this philosophy in mind and the support and guidance from a few Ottawans, Karen refugees work tirelessly in hopes of finding independence and freedom. Karen newcomers have been farming on 4 acres of land in Stittsville generously donated for their use by Mr. Roger Stone. In May 2007, only five months after their arrival in Canada, they began to prepare the soil. Now, with three farming seasons under their belt they will continue to build on their dreams as they plan for next year. Kate Heartfield's article in the Ottawa Citizen describes the events that led to the development of the land by the Karen Farmers. (see below for this article) The Karen Farmers were accepted into the Carp Farmers Market in 2008. The farmers do not use chemicals on their produce or in the soil. With public awareness and an increasing market for chemical free produce the Karen Farm has a real chance for success. The Karen have a work ethic that is second to none. Time, however, works against them and some assistance would be invaluable. Karen farmers attend English classes, some also have part time cleaning jobs in an effort to support their families. This makes it difficult for them to work the farm full time. We would like to offer farmer compensation during the farming season, which runs from May to October. This would ensure the field has someone on hand at all times. This amount would be 400.00 a week to compensate 40 hours of work a week for 24 weeks, a total of $9,600.00 The farmers use manual labour to do everything. The Karen farm needs a small used tractor to decrease the back-breaking work of preparing the field by hand. The approximate cost for this would be $10,000.00.
The Karen Farm could act as a pilot project to inspire government to look at supporting this type of endeavour as opposed to sending new refugees into the Ontario Works programs and other similar provincial programs.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/views/bios/story.html?bbc4b9de-3979-4d6f-8c13-905c299b677f&k=3911.


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