R4R (Running for Resettlement) 2015

R4R was founded in 2014 by a group of Fulbright* grantees who wanted to help North Korean refugees beyond volunteering as English tutors for them. Last year, R4R raised almost $10,000 for Liberation in North Korea (LiNK) and the Wooridul School.

This year, all funds raised will be donated to NKHR Rescue Fund. Founded in 1996, the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) is one of the oldest organizations devoted to North Korean human rights, doing everything from rescue work to resettlement programs. The Rescue Fund is a volunteer group within NKHR that holds fundraisers to raise money to rescue North Korean refugees who are currently in third countries. (North Korean refugees typically go from North Korea to another country before trying to make it to South Korea.)

Most of NKHR's rescuees come from China, where they face the threat of repatriation to North Korea where they will be put into prisons, tortured, and even executed. Because they have to live in hiding, North Korean refugees, especially women, fall victim to labor and sex trafficking. It costs approximately $2500 USD to rescue one person and bring him or her safely to South Korea.

*R4R is not affiliated with the Fulbright Program or the U.S. State Department.