CSC in the Media
See how the Carolina Survivor Clinic has been featured in our local news.
Posted on January 11, 2019
By Chris Horn
"A University of South Carolina faculty member, staff member and two students who exemplify Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to service, equality and social justice will be honored at the university’s annual MLK Commemorative Breakfast...
Bais, an infectious disease expert, is the founder of the Carolina Survivor Clinic, which serves the long-term needs of resettled refugees in the Columbia metro area. The clinic provides health care, English-language instruction for adults, tutoring and soccer programs for youth, and a therapeutic garden. About 400 student volunteers serve at the clinic.
'What we’re trying to show students is that the idealism expressed by Martin Luther King can become a reality,” Bais says. “Being recognized for this award is more of a recognition of what the university has done, what the students have done, what the refugees themselves have been through and who they are — and that we can change the world for the better. Personal recognition means nothing, but recognizing what we can accomplish as a society, realizing that potential — that means everything.'"
Justice for all.
Columbia clinic gives home
Posted on October 8, 2018
By T. Michael Boddie and Reema Vaidya
"At 15, Saleh Sumili fled his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and took refuge in Tanzania. He made it to the United States about two months ago.
Now 34, Sumili lives in Columbia with his wife and two children and is granted official refugee status by the United States. He is just one of about 900 other people in the city who have sought refuge from their home countries and been granted asylum due to persecution..."
Professors, alumni, and students team up to aid refugees
Posted on December 3, 2017
By Jasmine Ranjit
"We hear about tragedies every day. News about the genocide in Myanmar or the ongoing war in Syria filters in and recognition of these events also accompanies our sense of limited locality. Often, these tragedies feel a world away.
This mentality is changing. Within the past year, Columbia has taken in refugees from countries such as Myanmar, Iraq, Syria and the Congo. Easing the transition into living in the United States has been a major concern for South Carolina and USC undergraduates, professors and alumni are at the forefront of a solution..."
Midlands Clinic Teaches Refugees English
Posted on July 27, 2017
By Chuck Ringwalt, Columbia, SC (WLTX)
"Refugees are often unable to fully communicate when they enter the United States, but the Carolina Survivor Clinic is teaching many of the refugees in Columbia how to better speak English. Every Monday and Wednesday John Makarios studies at St. Andrews Park in Columbia.
'I like the classes. It's good,' Makarios said.
Makarios is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and for the last seven months, he's been learning how to better communicate..."
Read the original article from WLTX19
World Refugee Day: 20 People Every Minute Become Refugees Because of War
Posted on June 20, 2017
By Kayla Binette, Columbia, SC (WLTX)
"'Tuesday was World Refugee Day, a time to commemorate strength, courage, and perseverance of millions of refugees. According to the UN, a record of 65-and-a-half million people are displaced. The number of refugees that we have accepted into this country is pathetic,' said Caroline Negal.
Refugee resettlement has recently been at the center of heated political debate about immigration. So, as part of World Refugee Day, the Carolina Peace Resource Center held a panel discussion about the global refugee crisis..."
Read the original article from WLTX19
Carolina Group Helps Refugees Prepare for Future
Posted on April 24, 2017
By Nic Jones
"Middle school can be hard for any fourteen-year-old. Diamond Sun knows the struggle.
'It was difficult because I was alone,' said Sun. 'I had to grow up with friends that didn't speak my language.'
Sun's family came to the United States from Burma. His home has been under attack from the Karen, a nationalist group in Burma that's been a part of one of the world's longest civil wars. That has forced Sun's family to start all over.
'They attacked our people,' said Sun. 'That's why we're in refugee camps and we came to the United States because they're burning down our villages and stuff. So that's why we came to this country to have a better life'...
A healthy new start
Posted on December 10, 2015
By Steven Powell
The School of Medicine recently brought in an international health expert from Queens, N.Y., Dr. Rajeev Bais, who says that one path to expanding the school's global mission leads right back to Columbia.
'You really don't need to go abroad to start a global health initiative,' Bais says. 'We have global health right here in our back yard. All of the problems of the world, both politically and health-wise, are manifested in these patients...'"
Read the original article from the University of South Carolina
Scholarly Works by Carolina Survivor Clinic Staff
The Violence of Uncertainty - Undermining Immigrant and Refugee Health
Breanne L Grace, Ph.D., Rajeev Bais, M.D., M.P.H., and Benjamin J. Roth, Ph.D., M.S.W