Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Imagine you have just minutes to flee your home. What few items can you carry? How will you find food, shelter, and water? These are just a few of the many thoughts that race through the minds of an estimated 33 million people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge because of war and conflict. For three years, Bethlehem has been working with Somali refugees at the Wellness Connection of Minnesota. Many of you have been touched by their stories. We invite you to a refugee camp experience.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières hopes to bring an understanding of the refugee experience to the people of Minneapolis. "A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City," a free exhibit, will take place at Loring Park, Thursday, September 27 through Sunday, September 30 from 9 am - 5:30 pm daily.

Doctors Without Borders aid workers guide visitors through the camp exhibit, explaining the challenges of building shelter, finding food and clean water, and handling waste disposal-all basic elements of survival for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In the nutrition tent, visitors learn about the special therapeutic foods used to combat malnutrition. Tours of the health clinic, vaccination tent, and cholera treatment center demonstrate how the organization provides basic health care and controls epidemics in refugee settings.

The exhibit is made up of actual materials used by Doctors Without Borders in its medical humanitarian work around the world. The exhibit will highlight the plight of the millions of people currently displaced by conflict in places like Sudan, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Thailand (the Hmong refugees) and Somalia-where the majority of Minnesota's refugees originate.