P11

The Congolese Backgrounder from the Cultural Orientation Resource Center and the Employer Guide to Hiring Refugees from the ACC both contained a lot of interesting and important information about refugees and the employment of those refugees.  The employment guide offered good information about the process of hiring a refugee, and what that experience entails: both the good parts and the difficult parts.  I thought it was useful how they included a frequently asked questions section to immediately ease the common anxieties employers have about the prospect of hiring refugees. This information is intended to cover all refugees so it was a bit broad in that sense, but still helpful in giving employers crucial knowledge regarding refugees as employees.

The Congolese Backgrounder contained pertinent information for both employers and volunteers interested in working with this specific group.  It was especially helpful because it focused on one group of refugees and was therefore able to give more detailed and accurate information about what working with them would be like.  I felt that the sections providing historical background of the refugees’ struggles as well as the sections covering Congolese traditions and customs were very useful.  This information would give employers and volunteers greater context and understanding of the refugees’ lives and behaviors.

While some information could be excluded for the purpose of saving space (such as food and drink information or health care information) I think the more employers and volunteers know about the refugees they are working with, the better. Therefore, when creating a “Working with Refugees” document, I believe it would be appropriate to include both specific and general information about refugees.  It is important that employers have general information about the processes involved in employing a refugee, but that they also understand the specific details of the refugees they are hiring.  Including this information will ensure that they are best prepared for the unique refugee coming to work with them.