Thursday’s Hometown Hero is Flicka Bateman.

Flicka does a tremendous amount of work with and for refugees, helping them to adjust to life here in our community and generally, making life for these people a lot better than it would be otherwise.  She helps refugees from Burma, including Karen, Burman, Chin, Mon, etc. Also  Congolese, Iraqi and any other nationality of  refugees who are living in Orange County.

She’s been doing it for years.

The name of the organization is called Refugee Support Center.  Their volunteers range in age from 14 to 84, working in a wide array of occupations from students to professionals.

Last month, the center was honored by the North Carolina Peace Corps Association for its work with refugees in our community. The PCA gave its annual Peace Prize to the Center at an event on February 27.