FORGE Program
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The FORGE Program (FORGE stands for Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment) is a non-governmental organization geared towards aiding refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as raising public awareness about pressing global issues. The organization is primarily geared towards Western university students and its stated goal is to utilize "youth as catalysts for social change" and "raise awareness about critical global issues". The focus of the group is on African refugees, usually those who have fled the violence of the Great Lakes region in the past decade.
FORGE was founded by Stanford University undergraduate student, Kjerstin Erickson after three trips to Africa. FORGE was subsequently able to raise$80,000 USD and became affiliated with the United Nations, operating under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The organization is largely made up of North Americans, primarily American university students, in addition to a program in British Columbia, Canada. FORGE is split into two subdivisions: the FORGE Ambassador Program which every year sends a number of university students to refugee camps in Zambia (this is where most of the FORGE-run camps in Africa are located, FORGE has Zambia programs in Meheba, Mwange, and Kala) and a camp in Botswana (Dukwi). The other division of the group is FORGE Advocacy which is concerned primarily with raising awareness in the West, particularly the United States, about global issues and attempts to promote a sustainable society.
