Jacksonville, Fla. – The Jacksonville area Refugee Task Force, in recognition of World Refugee Day 2013, will host a celebration at the Jacksonville Public Library Downtown, on Wednesday, June 19, at 1 p.m.

Events are being planned worldwide to highlight the plight of the more than 40 million refugees displaced and victims of conflict.

Locally, Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program employee, Ta Yah Htoo, will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen, along with 30 others, during this event. Ta Yah was born in a Refugee camp in Thailand, and fled her country when she was 17. She came to Jacksonville with her family five years ago.

Ta Yah has worked for Catholic Charities for nearly three years and was resettled here by World Relief. For the past year, she has been taking citizenship classes at Southside Baptist Church.

Jacksonville is the most diverse area of Florida with students from 107 countries of origin represented in the school system. Last year, refugees came to Jacksonville from Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and Ethiopia, as well as other parts of the world.

Interviews with Ta Yah can be scheduled before or after the event on Wednesday. Please contact Debbie Moore at Catholic Charities, (904) 354-4846, ext. 243 or dmoore@ccbjax.org.