take action 
1. Provide a screening copy of "Rain in a Dry Land" to your local high school as a resource for use in model United Nations exercises.
2. Volunteer as a tutor for refugee children, a driver for elderly refugees, job training and in a variety of other ways listed on the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants website and the International Rescue Committee's How You Can Help page.
3. Hold a fundraiser for the institutions in your community that supply transition assistance to new immigrants. Resettlement agencies, case workers, social workers and other volunteers provide a wide range of services for newcomers, including instruction on the basics of daily living and help locating housing, applying for aid, using public transportation, finding clothing and furniture, and much, much more. Visit the Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program website to find out about their Tools and Blanket Program, CROP Hunger Walks and more.
4. Become a literacy volunteer or offer to help whatever organization provides literacy tutoring in your town. Limited knowledge of English reduces the employment opportunities available to immigrants. In many communities, literacy volunteers offer free tutoring to immigrants.
5. Help agencies recruit volunteers to help new refugees undergoing resettlement in your community. Some national organizations with local chapters include:
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society works worldwide to rescue those in peril, reunite families in freedom and enable newcomers to build new lives with hope and prosperity. As a leading resettlement agency in the United States their website offers many resources on resettlement, advocacy and policy.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants works to address the needs and rights of persons in forced or voluntary migration worldwide by advancing fair and humane public policy, facilitating and providing direct professional services and promoting the full participation of migrants in community life. Their website offers national and local news updates, opportunities for participation, and a full listing of affiliates across the country.
Since 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has worked with partners in service, advocacy and education nationwide to bring new hope and new life to America’s newcomers. LIRS resettles refugees, protects unaccompanied refugee and migrant children, advocates for fair and just treatment of asylum seekers, seeks alternatives to detention for those who are incarcerated during their immigration proceedings and stands for unity for families fractured by unfair laws. More information about their programs and services is available on the website.
World Relief works with local evangelical churches to bring hope to suffering people worldwide — through disaster relief, international development work and refugee resettlement. The website offers many resources about refugees and resettlement, including suggestions for getting involved and real-life stories of families undergoing the resettlement process.
6. Research U.S. policy on Somalia, including what the government does to defend human rights, provide humanitarian aid or help stop the violence. A good place to start is the International Organization for Migration website. The site outlines migration as one of the "defining global issues of the early twenty-first century," and provides a glimpse into the lives of the 192 million people who live outside their place of birth in the world today. Then share your opinions about what the policy should be with your elected political representatives.
7. Survey recent immigrants to find out which everyday things they found most confusing. Use the survey results to create a cultural-orientation program customized to life in your community. Work with social service providers, schools and other stakeholders to implement your program.
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