Name: Armant L’Heureux

Social Justice Group: Refugees

Date of Fieldwork: January 29, 2018

Name of Organization: Catholic Charities

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Siddika Degia

Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action

What I did:

We went to Catholic Charities, a charity foundation that helps with many areas including refugees. First, Siddika showed us a slideshow about what they do and how they help refugees and then we packaged toiletries for refugees in need of them.

What I learned:

In the slideshow, it showed some examples of people that Catholic Charities helped, ranging from a boy from Venezuela who was threatened by a gang and managed to make it to the border and was let in to a boy from Honduras who fled for the same reason and had to leave his mother and family behind. We learned about the experiences and how it can take many years to be resettled. Even though it was our fourth fieldwork, it was our first volunteering opportunity where we got to help refugees by packing toiletries for them. The toiletries were for refugees who had just arrived and were in need. As well as the toiletries, we packaged letters to them, welcoming them and trying to make them feel at home.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
Something that I learned was that it’s not just the huge things that people do. It’s the small ones such as food for people who need it, charity work, donations and gifts. It’s not just about attending marches and protesting (although it still does help). Every little thing counts.