BWA NEWS highlights Thailand Refugee School Graduation continued


Human Rights Award, said 58 students graduated. The school, he said, had an enrollment of 420 students for the 2012- 2013 school year. Approximately 3,000 persons, most of whom are affiliated with the Kaw Thoo Lei Karen Baptist Churches, a group of Baptist churches founded in the refugee camps, attended the graduation and dedication ceremony.


The April 14 graduation ceremony was the 29th graduation exercise of the school. The Mae La camp, where the school is located, has an estimated 50,000 displaced persons. It is one of the largest of several refugee camps for displaced persons from Myanmar who fled conflicts in the South Asian country. Simon and his family fled across the Thai border after the school, which was


originally located in Rangoon (Yangon), the former capital of Myanmar, was destroyed. He later restarted it in the Mae La camp in 1984.


Some roads especially in Kilembe are now impassable (Photo courtesy of redpepper.co.ug) Floods Ravage Western Uganda, BWA Sends Aid


Baptist Convention told the BWA on May 6 that the “River Nyamwamba has burst its banks for the second time since last week, and has so far claimed many lives and displaced thousands of others.” Baptist teams on the ground, he said, are “worried that the disaster may worsen if the river continues to flood.”


Many residents heeded warnings to vacate the area but those who opted


to stay were affected by the floods that sealed off a number of roads and submerged several bridges, cutting off whole communities. Mountainous areas experienced severe landslides, destroying homes and farmlands. Wafula said there is urgent need for food and relief supplies such as water purification tablets, blankets and mosquito nets, among other items.


The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) sent an initial


sum of US$5,000 to assist victims flooded out in the East African country of Uganda. At least six people have been killed while others remain missing. A number of Baptist churches in the affected


regions are sheltering persons displaced by the disaster, including one that houses more than 360 persons.


On May 1 and 5 heavy rains fell in Kasese District


in western Uganda causing flash floods that led to loss of life and destruction of property. Almost 4,000 houses in 57 villages were affected, displacing more than 25,000.


Four rivers, Nyamwamba, Mubuku, Bulemba and Kitakena burst their banks and destroyed surrounding homes, hospitals, gardens, roads and bridges. Kenneth Wafula, general secretary of the Uganda


28 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE Uganda


Donations to the Uganda flood relief effort may be made online at the BWA website.


Mangled metal is seen in front of the homes of Kilembe copper mines workers destroyed by floods in Kasese district in May.


(REUTERS/ James Akena)

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