Catholic Transcript Online

Reality TV's Gillian Larson and Terry Deitz (Photo submitted)

SIMSBURY – Talk about a reality check: Two former contestants on television’s "Survivor" will appear with two real-life survivors of wars and genocide on May 15 at St. Mary’s Parish Center.

The joint appearance by reality TV’s Gillian Larson, who was on "Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden," and Terry Deitz, a contestant on "Survivor: Panama – Exile Island," is designed to raise money for people who lived through wars, genocide and natural disasters and who eventually settled here with help from Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Hartford.

Also speaking will be a Karen (Burmese) woman who fled from the oppression and mass killing of her people by the military dictatorship decades ago, and a man who escaped the genocide in southern Sudan in the early 1990s.

"The people I’ve talked to so far seem very excited about it," said Rhoda Obermeier, an organizer, by telephone in mid-April. "Still, because you don’t have to make a reservation or anything, we have no idea how many people are going to show up," she added.

Ms. Obermeier and members of several nearby parishes formed the group Supporters of Global Refugees, which is sponsoring the event in conjunction with Catholic Charities, St. Mary’s Parish and the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministries.

"The people who are refugees from different countries to this country, now they are real survivors," said Ms. Larson by phone from her home in California. "Ours was a game, but the things that these people go through ….they are just amazing people."

Ms. Larson, who was 61 when she vied in the 17^{th season of "Survivor," was a neighbor of Ms. Obermeier’s in Simsbury years ago but has kept in touch. Now a motivational speaker, she said that she volunteered to help after learning from Ms. Obermeier the stories of some of the refugees.}

She also recruited Mr. Deitz, who was a contestant during the 12th season and who also is a member of St. Mary’s Parish. She had met him at "Survivor" reunions.

Ms. Larson said she plans to tie her experiences with the reality show to the theme "Dream it, believe it, prepare for it and do it."

"I dreamt and wanted to be on ‘Survivor,’" she said, adding that she applied eight times, went to interviews and casting calls and got "rejection after rejection" before she was cast.

The Karen woman who will speak is Peh Htoo, who will discuss the genocide that continues in her homeland, her experiences in Burma and her journey to and 20-plus years in a refugee camp in Thailand, where she was a nurse. She came to Connecticut two years ago through the Migration and Refugee Services of Catholic Charities.

Dut Tong, who fled Sudan, was an indentured servant before coming to the United States as a refugee.

"[H]is story is remarkable," Deacon Arthur L. Miller, director of the Office for Black Catholic Ministries, wrote in an e-mail. "Most of his family and most of his friends in his village were killed."

Deacon Miller described Mr. Tong as "a moving speaker."

Also on hand will be women from a Migration and Refugee Services sewing circle, who will sell items representative of their homelands.

The event will start at 6 p.m. with a "meet and greet." The program will begin at 6:30. Free-will donations will be accepted.

Information is available by calling Ms. Obermeier at (860) 651-4027; Ed at (860) 951-1097; or the Office for Black Catholic Ministries at (860) 243-0648 or by e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ms. Obermeier said that Supporters of Global Refugees traces its roots to about 2007, when Deacon Miller introduced parishioners in Avon, Simsbury, and West Hartford to refugees in Hartford. Over the past three years, more than 50 volunteers "have had the rewarding experience of meeting and assisting the Burundi and Karen refugees resettled in Hartford," she said.

As the May 15 fund-raiser was being planned, its organizers decided to name the group Supporters of Global Refugees to indicate that it will address the needs of more than one or two ethnic groups and better synchronize resources.