Who the Refugee Youth Project serves and some common questions about refugees.

What is a refugee?

A refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country..."

The 1951 Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees

Where do the participants in the Refugee Youth Project come from?

The participants in RYP vary from year to year but they have included or currently include:
Somali Bantu
Meskhetian Turks
Liberian
Congolese
Sudanese
Gambian
Former Yugoslavians
Sierra Leonean
And
Burundian

How many refugees participate in RYP?

There are over 70 active participants in RYP.

How old are the refugees in RYP?

The refugees are between the ages of 6 and 21.

How long have the refugees lived in Baltimore?

It depends. Some of the participants have been in Baltimore six years and some of them arrived a few days before enrolling in RYP.

Where do the refugees go to school?

Because the refugees do not live in one centralized neighborhood in Baltimore they go to many different Baltimore City Public Schools. They go to Moravia Park Elementary/Middle School, W.E. B. Dubois High School, Patterson High School, Highlandtown Elementary #233, Highlandtown Elementary # 215, Highlandtown Middle School, West Baltimore Middle School and a few Baltimore County schools.

Do refugees stay in the Refugee Youth Project forever? When can they no longer participate in the Refugee Youth Project?

Although all refugees between the ages of 6 and 21 are welcome to participate in RYP, after a few years in Baltimore, it is not common that they continue to participate on a regular basis. RYP mostly serves new arrivals (refugees who have arrived within the past two years). However we never force a child to stop coming to RYP. RYP is an after-school program open to all refugees, regardless of their arrival date. RYP recognizes the need for after-school programs in young people’s lives and actively encourages all former participants to attend the program whenever possible. RYP actively seeks out ways in which older arrivals can help support new arrivals transition to the United States, by providing service opportunities for peer tutoring and in school buddy systems.

What are some things former RYP participants have gone on to do?

The ultimate goal of RYP is for every refugee to graduate from high school and go on to pursue future academic goals. Former participants currently attend Baltimore City Community College, Catonsville Community College and Notre Dame College in Baltimore to name a few. Other former participants are active members of their communities and work hard at many endeavors. Many of them give credit to RYP for helping them succeed in the United States.