Photo: Paul Jeffrey
NEW YORK — Based in a city shaped by immigrants, Church World Service will honor those who serve refugees and immigrants around the world at its annual Benefit 4 Change gala Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. at the World Monuments Fund Gallery, 15 East 27th Street in Manhattan.
As one of nine agencies that resettles refugees for the U.S. government, humanitarian agency Church World Service celebrates the resilience, determination and contributions that have made refugees and immigrants such a vital addition to the City of New York and communities across the country. The agency’s annual Benefit 4 Change event will honor United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, the Director of the Refugee Services Department of the United Republic of Tanzania Harrison Mseke and Bhutanese refugee advocate, Karna Gurung.
Bishop Carcaño, who has brought the faith community’s voice to the forefront of the immigration debate, will be honored for her frontline advocacy in support of the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children fleeing violence in Central America who have arrived in the U.S.
Mseke has served his country and the international community with the recent and historic decision by the United Republic of Tanzania to grant citizenship to more than 160,000 refugees.
“With more people displaced by conflict in the world today than in any time since the Second World War, the decision by the Government of Tanzania is admirable and we at CWS applaud their groundbreaking initiative,” says Erol Kekic, director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program.
Gurung has represented the Bhutanese refugee community at the recent United Nations Refugee Congress in Washington, D.C. and served as an outspoken advocate for the 1000-plus members of Omaha, Nebraska’s Bhutanese community. The Refugee Congress provides a platform for inclusion of refugee voices in U.S. discussions around policy to protect people fleeing violence and persecution around the world.
Carcaño, Mseke and Gurung will be honored with the John Backer Champions 4 Change award, an annual honor given for outstanding service to the refugee community.
Images of Iraq, Syria and Virginia shot by refugee Husam Adnan Abdulazeez, a talented Iraqi photographer resettled to the U.S. earlier this year, will provide a visual backdrop for the event. The photos are displayed to illustrate the refugee story.
Jazz saxophonist Jeff Walton and bassist John Murchison will perform live at the Benefit. Leora Kahn, founder and executive director of PROOF: Media for Social Justice, will emcee the event.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit cwsglobal.org/benefit or contact Will Haney, CWS Immigration and Refugee Program at whaney@cwsglobal.org, or 347 335 8281.