Stories

When Alphonse stepped off the plane in Memphis nearly five years ago, he thought he would be alone. He had his sister by his side, but his mother was still in the Democratic Republic of Congo along with his other siblings.  

Yet to his surprise, he was greeted at the airport by his name—one that only his family had ever used. Instead of being alone, he and his sister were welcomed into Memphis by individuals who would prove to be his mentors time and time again as he navigated life in the United States for the first time.  

With the help of World Relief Memphis and the community, Alphonse began to rebuild his life in the United States, after having spent most of it in refugee camps previously.  

“World relief was one of the organizations that helped me make more friends with volunteers,” Alphonse explained.  “They drove me around, took me out, [encouraged me to] try and move forward, and [to] start looking for jobs.” 

Although it wasn’t easy, Alphonse was able to start working only a month after arriving thanks to their help. Shortly after, he decided to return to school and get a degree.  

As he was applying, he learned that none of his previous studies would transfer to the American education system. He would have to start over.  

Unsure of what to do in a foreign country in a language that wasn’t his own, he turned to friends who had completed the process before him. They mentored him, showing him where to take English classes, where to get his GED and how to get accepted.  

Thanks to the help of his mentors, Alphonse earned his high school diploma in just 11 months. He had completed grades nine through twelve in less than a year. 

“Every day, I had to be there for over 10 hours. I had to quit my job and stay on campus,” said Alphonse, now 24. “It was really rough because the whole year, I was not working, and I had to support myself financially too. It was hard.” 

Three years later, Alphonse is thriving. He will soon be completing his associate’s degree in Computer Information Technology at Southwest Tennessee Community College; he works full-time; he’s started his own business; and he’s a leader in his community. 

His success, however, wouldn’t have been possible without mentors from the U.S. and the immigrant community that walked him through the process each time he had questions.  

“They introduced me to their friends who have already been through the same process, who have done the same major that I want to do. They’re actually working in the field so they’re telling me how the experience is,” said Alphonse, who plans to attend the University of Memphis in 2022. “I was like ‘Wow. I think I can do it.’ At the end of the day, I ended up in college, and it was still really hard.” 

Because of their support, Alphonse is now in a place where he feels that he can give back to others just as they have done for him. When World Relief Memphis launched their Youth Mentoring Program in the spring, he was one of the first to sign up.  

“Youth mentoring is something I was passionate about because other people helped me throughout the process,” he said. “Being a teenager and trying to figure out what to do in life is very challenging, especially when you just graduate from high school. You might have a lot of ideas, and if you talk to people, they can show you the right way, and it might lead you to a good path.” 

Just a few weeks ago, he was told that he had been matched with his WRM mentee. He had already been a mentor to his nephew and others in the community as they prepare to start university, but now he’s taking it one step further by encouraging others to purse their studies just as his mentors once did to him.  

“Trying to make people move outside their comfort zone [is] a little bit challenging, but it is something we want to bring to the community—that there are still good things out there,” Alphonse explained. “You can feel like you’re not good at anything, but it’s better to try than to sit down and not do it. Once you try, it’s going to give you experience on how other things look like.” 

Throughout the course of their relationship, Alphonse hopes to help him succeed just as others have helped him before so that he’s not alone—helping him choose a major, find a job and network with his future colleagues in business. The Youth Mentoring Program may only be for a year, but Alphonse shrugs that away. 

“As long as he’s still going to need me, I’ll be there,” he said with a smile and a nod of his head. “At the end of the day, we always want to have a community where we see people growing.” 

Alphonse, thank you for your commitment to the community and our youth! We are excited to have you as a part of our Youth Mentoring Program.  

If you believe in helping people grow like Alphonse does, fill out an application for Youth Mentoring today. We are currently enrolling mentors for the summer season, and we would love to have you join us in walking towards a new horizon where all can flourish.  

At 10-years-old, Alliance already understands the responsibilities that only an adult should. As she gets ready for school, she glances at her three siblings, worrying about what she will prepare for them for lunch that day.  

As she steps out of the door of their home in the Gihembe refugee camp in Rwanda, she sees the storm clouds rolling in over the horizon. She begins the long walk to school, and the rain starts to fall. The wind picks up.  

By the time she arrives, she’s soaked to the bone. With each step she takes, water drips to the red dirt floor. The teacher starts the class, but Alliance isn’t listening. Instead, she hears the wind growing stronger, rattling the make-shift structure that is their school. 

Even if the structure doesn’t blow away, she will still have to repeat the walk home, cook lunch for her younger siblings while her mom is looking for work to support them, and once again return to school in the midst of the downpour.  

When she goes to sleep that night after completing her chores, she knows that she will have to repeat the process again the next day. Only this time, perhaps she won’t have to worry about her school being blown away in the midst of a storm. 

Until one day, she didn’t. In 2015, Alliance and her siblings left the only home they had ever known and moved to the United States with their mother to begin rebuilding their lives. To the thirteen-year-old, it felt like a practical joke. 

“I didn’t believe we were coming here,” said Alliance, now 19. “There [was] no [way] I [was] going to a new country because we never really travelled, even outside of the state, out of the camp, because we were not allowed to get involved with the other citizens because we were not citizens. We were just refugees, immigrants. The whole thought of us going, not outside of the country but outside of the continent, it just scared me, and I never dreamed of it.” 

Arriving in Memphis one hot summer day, her family is greeted at the airport by the team at World Relief Memphis. Her mother looks to her to guide them because she’s learned the basics of English at school and was the top of her class, but it’s too fast. 

Slowly, she begins to settle into life in the U.S. When August rolls around, she begins school with the other children her age. Only this time, she doesn’t have to worry about cooking lunch for her siblings or her school being blown away. Now, she’s safe. 

“We were able to learn new things in the safest way possible, because [before], if the wind blew, it could easily bring the shelter down, and we would just be rained on, and we wouldn’t have school,” said Alliance, a senior at East High School. “Another thing that I liked about here is that the schools have food for kids to eat. Mostly—where I’m from, you had to stay in class—while in class you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to eat when I get home.’”  

As the oldest, she thought not of herself, but of her siblings. Once she was stateside, however, she was able to shift her focus to her studies in a way she hadn’t been able to before thanks to her teachers and team at World Relief Memphis. 

“The teachers were really nice, and thankfully we had organizations like World Relief that helped us, you know, like getting used to the customs here,” she said. “[They] helped us get used to the environment here, and we’re grateful for that.” 

Nearly six years later, Alliance and her siblings are thriving. In June, she will be graduating from high school, and in August she will begin her college career at the University of Memphis as part of their ROTC program thanks to the encouragement of one of her 10th grade teachers. 

“When I was in high school, I wanted to find myself,” Alliance said. “It wasn’t until 10th grade when I joined JROTC that I found this teacher. He was like a father to me because my dad is not here, and he was in the military, and he introduced me to the military life.” 

To this day, they still talk on a daily basis. He checks on her about her schoolwork, encouraging her to continue even when it gets difficult. In return, Alliance perseveres, determined to break the cycle within her family and to make a difference in the society that’s welcomed and given so much to her.  

“I want to challenge [myself], and I want to be able to stay fit, because people from my country don’t stay fit like that because all we do is go to school, graduate, and get married, and I want to do everything different,” Alliance explained. “I’m trying to break the family cycle, which is one of the reasons why I decided to join the army.” 

In the fall, she will be doing just that as she starts her freshman year. In between ROTC trainings, she will be studying to become a pharmacist or psychologist.  

“I care so much about health, and I want to get into medicine and having people cured. Because growing up, we would get sick, and [my grandma] would find some natural cures. Since the world is developed now, I want to be able to do that in a chemical way,” said Alliance, the eldest of five. “With psychology, I really want to help people with their problems because I know what I had to deal with as a child and where I am now, and I would really like teaching a way they can deal with their problems.” 

No matter the path she chooses, Alliance will ensure that those who come after her will feel the safety and security that she does now. She may be caught in the occasional rainstorm on the way to school, but she knows that she and her family can build their lives in the U.S. in peace. 

Alliance, we are so proud of you, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for you! 

If you want to play a role in the lives of our youth, sign up to become a Youth Mentor. As summer approaches, we are looking for more mentors to onboard. Start the application here. 

This Mother’s Day, we want to wish all of our mothers, in all stages of life, a Happy Mother’s Day. We know that motherhood is a blessing, but it’s not without its trials. For many of our families, mothers have made immense sacrifices for their children. Today, we honor and thank you for all that you do.

Seeta is a mother of four. When her family left Afghanistan, however, only three children boarded the plane with her and her husband, Noor.

Aysha, their youngest daughter at less than a year old, was forced to stay behind as her family left in search of safety in America. Having served the U.S. military as a journalist, her husband and her family could no longer stay in Afghanistan for fear of retaliation from the Taliban.

“I was working with the U.S. military as a journalist, and she was working with USAID (United State Agency for International Development) and United Nations, so it was very dangerous for us because the Taliban did not accept people who worked for foreigners,” Noor explained. “We were not safe in our country, so in order to seek safety we came here.”

Consequently, Noor and his family were offered Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) from the U.S. government as a way to not only thank them but also to protect them.

But at the time the visa paperwork was issued, Aysha had not been born. As a result, her paperwork was filed separately, and Noor and Seeta were forced to leave her behind with other family members.

“It was a hard time because we didn’t have any choice,” said Noor, who recently found work with Amazon. “We thought if we lost that chance, we wouldn’t find it again. Because of that, we left our baby there. We came here. If we had cancelled our visas, maybe we wouldn’t have been able to get [them] back.”

Instead, Seeta and her husband arrived in Memphis in October 2020 with their eight-, six- and five-year-old children. It wasn’t until two months later that they received news about Aysha’s visa, but, for her to come, Seeta risked not being able to return to the U.S. because her green card had not arrived.

Determined to be reunited with her daughter, Seeta and her Good Neighbor Team began looking for a way to make it possible alongside World Relief Memphis staff. After speaking with the State Department, they discovered that her green card had been misplaced, but that she could go to Afghanistan with her current visa knowing that it was coming.

Yet when she arrived in Afghanistan, she was greeted by a baby who didn’t recognize her. The months apart had created distance, but Seeta was patient.

“It was emotional, and she didn’t want to come with me for one day or night, like maybe she [had] forgotten me,” Seeta said. “Then she realized who I am, and now she’s not leaving me for one minute.”

Finally, Seeta brought her daughter home. Her family was together, and they could begin to rebuild their lives in safety.

Today, she works for Shelby County, helping connect others in her community with the resources they need in the wake of the pandemic. After advocating for women and children’s safety in Afghanistan for many years, Seeta seeks to empower women in the workplace.

Aysha, on the other hand, is flourishing.

“She’s very happy with us now. When she came, she was sad and keeping calm,” Noor said. “But now, she’s come back better than ever and is very active.” 

When asked if they had hopes and dreams for the future, Noor and Seeta immediately responded.

“For sure, that’s why we are here. We are here because of these. We try to do all our best for all our children.” 

This year, we have a number of students graduating from high school, many of them being the first ones to do so in their family. We wanted to take a moment to focus on some of our seniors as they prepare to enter into a new phase of their life. First up is future soccer pro Gabriel. 

As a child growing up in Malawi, Gabriel Lenge dreamed of playing professional soccer. Now, thanks to his time at White Station High School, that dream could become reality.  

His first year on the team, they won the state championship, and Gabriel was named the best defender in the district. That year, his coach helped him to improve and finesse his skills. At the same time, his teachers and mentors encouraged him to pursue his studies, rather than focusing on one or the other like he had done in the past. 

“In Malawi, I wasn’t good in school,” said Gabriel, 18. “I used to go to school, but when I got home, I just wanted to put the bag over there and go play soccer.” 

Arriving in the U.S., however, Gabriel’s teachers and support system at World Relief Memphis urged him to pursue both his passions—math and soccer.  

“A lot of people were telling me that school is important here,” said Gabriel, who will be attending Southwest Tennessee Community College in the fall. “My ESL (English as a second language) teacher helped me a lot, and he would give me advice.” 

If he didn’t know who to turn to, his teachers at White Station were always there to help, whether it be finding a college counselor or working on his studies.  

“If I struggled, they’d tell me to stay after school for tutoring and help me a lot,” he said. “Even now, if I need something I can just ask for their help.” 

Now, Gabriel will be graduating in a month, and, thanks to the support of his teachers, coaches and mentors, he’ll be starting his degree in civil engineering in the fall, where he can combine his love for math and drawing as he designs public transportation. After that, he’ll be trying out for the local soccer team, Memphis 901 FC. 

“Engineering is my plan B, if soccer doesn’t work out,” Gabriel explained. “Since I was a kid, I used to go with my father to play soccer.” 

Eventually, he would like to make it all the way to Major League Soccer. But for now, he’s focusing on enjoying his last few weeks of high school before moving on to college. 

“It was exciting, amazing, great. Sometimes, I think I’m going to miss it,” he said. “I’m excited to go to college.” 

Gabriel, we are so proud of all that you have accomplished and wish you the best of luck as you start your time in college! We hope to see you on the 901 FC field in the future! 

If you want to play a part in the lives of immigrant and refugee youth in the community like Gabriel, consider joining our Youth Mentoring Program! Start today by filling out your application.

To close out Volunteer Appreciation Month, we spoke to one of our Good Neighbor Teams about their experience welcoming a family into the U.S. and walking alongside them as they start to rebuild their lives stateside. These teams of 6-8 people are often the first friends our newest neighbors will have when they arrive, and they help explain the differences and culture of the United States during their first months in Memphis. 

In October 2020, Jessica Shoup and her son were waiting at the Memphis airport to welcome an Afghani family to the United States. As the they slowly descended on the escalator, Jessica’s 11-year-old son turns to her, saying, “They look like us.” 

From there, a relationship started to form between Jessica’s family of four and our new arrivals, who have children around the same age as Jessica’s.  

“I enjoy getting to know them, and every time we’re there we’ll probably stay for three hours, just talking,” said Jessica, part of Hope Church’s global outreach team. “That’s been the most enjoyable part so far– hanging out with them.” 

Jessica, alongside other members of her church, are part of the Good Neighbor Team that welcomed this family to the U.S., walking them through first grocery store visits, medical appointments and even school enrollments.  

For her family, it’s “about coming alongside and showing love to a stranger. You can do that in so many different ways, and our kids could just try sitting on the couch and smiling saying ‘thank you.’ We could do it by installing a washer and dryer or bringing them a meal.” 

These little actions have helped weave a bond between the families and other members of the team despite the cultural differences that once loomed large. For Jessica’s husband, Jared, it’s like introducing someone from southern California to someone from Boston—there will be cultural differences in the way we communicate, but we all have things in common, such as food and the traditions linked to it.  

“Culturally, they’re very open to having these conversations with us, and I think that the more we talk to them and understand the world they lived in, the more [we’ll begin to understand,]” Jared said. “Our worlds were obviously very different, and I know that life-wise they’ve been through experiences that I 
just can’t imagine [such as] their constant want for security.” 

The Longs, who also make up part of the team, were able to witness part of these difficulties first-hand when they helped the family return to Afghanistan to pick up their daughter, who they had been forced to leave behind because of delays in her paperwork.  

“I feel like in the sovereignty of God, you really form a lot of relationships,” Lucy Long explained. “Your heart is very vulnerable in that vein, and it really opened up a powerful bond.” 

Because of this bond, members of the Good Neighbor Team can often be found at the the family’s apartment, sharing a meal around their table or helping the children with their homework.  

“It’s been a great experience for us, and we’ve really enjoyed it,” said Johnny Long, who is the director of global outreach at Hope. “I want to build a relationship, and I call it relational discipleship. We have Christ in us, and if we’re having a relationship with someone, then we’re sharing Christ with them.” 

In the future, the Longs would love to see others be a good neighbor to new families as well. In doing so, you will “learn things that you never would learn before in Christ’s character” by being open to the idea and being willing to go outside of your comfort zone. 

In the meantime, Hope’s good neighbor team will continue walking alongside the the family as they rebuild their lives in the U.S. just as they have since that moment in the airport six months ago.  

“I think the ultimate goal is to become friends with this family. We want to see them thrive,” Jared said. “We’re in it for the long haul.” 

Hope Church family, thank you for coming alongside us and this family as we welcome them to the U.S! We all are so grateful for the way you show love like Jesus would, and we cannot wait to see how the future unfolds.  

If you want to come alongside a family just arriving like the Shoups and Longs did, fill out a volunteer application today. As Jared would say, “What’s stopping you?” 

In 1949, a young Yugoslavian man left war-torn Europe with all that he had in the search of a better life. Rather than packing multiple suitcases like we would today, however, he had to build his own out of nails and wood.  

A Nazi prison camp survivor, he had spent the past five years of his life in a displaced persons camp in Europe, one of over one million to do so after the war. He had worked for the U.S. army for a time, and when offered the chance to emigrate by the Serbian Orthodox Church, who sponsored displaced persons (DPs) after the horrors of World War II, he jumped at the opportunity.   

Upon arriving in the U.S., he had nothing but his plywood suitcase. Over time, he built a life for himself here, marrying a fellow immigrant from Serbia. Both families had saved every penny they had in order to be able to come to America, the land of opportunity, in the aftermath of the wars so that they could build a life for their future children, and they did.  

Today, their children and grandchildren are thriving American citizens, having become engineers, teachers, IT professionals and doctors. Several generations have proudly served the U.S. military. One of them, in fact, has even begun giving back to the refugee community that is so similar to that of her father’s by volunteering with us at World Relief Memphis.  

Last fall, Melissa got involved with our Resiliency Program, which helps refugee and immigrant women learn to sew so that they can empower themselves and eventually help support their families.  

Prior to COVID-19, Melissa had been unable to volunteer because of the distance. In fact, she lives on a farm in Franklin County, TN, about five hours from Memphis. Yet with the pandemic, she was presented with the opportunity to come alongside the refugee community remotely to help them learn the hard and soft skills necessary to fully integrate into life in the U.S.  

“One of the main things is teaching them the skills for working outside of a home,” Melissa explains. “Some of them have jobs, some of them don’t, so understanding how to call somebody, how to be on time . . . it’s teaching them to be responsible for their jobs.” 

For a couple hours each week, Melissa sits down at her kitchen table and connects via a WhatsApp video call to go through the different projects with each woman. They follow a series of videos that teaches them how to make various items such as masks, scrunchies, bow ties, etc.  

“They are so brave to do this,” said Melissa, 62. “Imagine, they are watching a video that is not in their native language, and then I can’t help them hands on.” 

One time, a student’s bobbin, which feeds the thread through the machine to stitch, wasn’t working. When she called Melissa with the problem, Melissa patiently walked her through it via WhatsApp video, trying to help as much as possible from nearly 300 miles away. 

Learning to sew is always a challenge, yet doing so virtually, through videos with no teacher there to guide you, is even more challenging. For Melissa, however, it was something that was passed down through the family, from generation to generation and from country to country. Now, she’s taking what her grandmother, who was from Serbia, taught her and passing it on to other immigrants and her own daughters.  

“My maternal immigrant great-grandfather was a tailor, and [my grandmother] was a true fashionista,” said Melissa, who sewed her own clothes during high school. “She would say, ‘Cut here, cut here!’ I would sew dresses for her, after she had suffered a crippling stroke, and those came out really beautiful. She didn’t even use a pattern, and, you know, that’s how I learned to sew.” 

With the rising prices of fabric and sewing materials, Melissa sews fewer clothes these days, focusing mainly on quilting, home décor and tailoring ready-made clothing. However, she still maintains the family tradition by teaching other immigrant woman to sew.  

“It’s really been wonderful for me to make friends with these women,” she said. “We talk about other things too [such as] their jobs or what they’re cooking for dinner, their culture.” 

In doing so, Melissa is building relationships that will last a lifetime and are mutually transformative. For her, she’s learning about other cultures and carrying out what the Bible has called us to do by loving and caring for her neighbor.  

“We’re called on by Christ to care for all people. There’s no nationality for Christ’s teaching,” said Melissa, who is a member of a local church in her hometown. “He said to love others as you love yourself . . . even in the Old Testament, the story of Ruth reminds us that there is no difference with strangers in a strange land because we are all God’s children.”   

For one woman that she teaches, this devoted care has made all the difference. Yordanos, who just started the Resiliency Program four weeks ago, already knows she can turn to Melissa in any circumstance.  

“She’s very generous and helpful, and she cares about her work,” Yordanos’ daughter said as she translated. “Even if she finishes the program, she’s still going to have contact with Melissa, and she knows she’ll easily help her and try to do things in a different way.” 

A former student who recently completed the program echoed Yordanos’ sentiments, saying that Melissa was a good teacher who encouraged her and helped her with her English.  

“She was a big help for me. Whenever I had done my projects, I showed her and she said it’s great,” she said. “I could turn to her for any difficulties.” 

In the future, this student would like to look for a job as a seamstress. Melissa, on the other hand, would like to continue volunteering with World Relief Memphis, even coming in person if needed from time to time.  

“Everyone has been so open and friendly to me,” she said. “I like to speak to people who are not native English speakers, and I like to learn about their cultures because I have an interesting culture.”  As a former teacher who has experience listening and understanding people who have a strong accent or beginning English skills, Melissa is able to help students become confident in expressing themselves in English.  

Through her time volunteering at World Relief Memphis, Melissa has not only helped empower the lives of the women she helps, but she’s also expanded her own learning about other cultures. 

“Melissa has been pivotal to the program, and she’s engaged with clients beyond just sewing – she’s been their friend, a person to talk about their culture with, someone to share successes and set-backs with,” said Rachel Hatfield, who leads our Resiliency Program. “She is one of the most willing people I have ever met – I think she’s demonstrated that skills can be helpful, a language to communicate can be helpful – but, really what it all boils down to is a willingness to help, and learn, and grow alongside of clients.” 

When her father arrived with a plywood suitcase over 70 years ago, he came with the hope of creating a new life for himself and his future children. He succeeded, and now his daughter is giving back to other immigrants and refugees through the family tradition of sewing.  

With the help of volunteers such as Melissa, our work at World Relief Memphis goes far beyond simply welcoming someone when they first arrive. It creates mutually transformative relationships, and it empowers these men and women so that they might succeed in their new life in the U.S., just as Melissa’s family did all those years ago.  

We are so incredibly thankful for our volunteers, and if you want to make an impact like Melissa did, fill out a volunteer application today. We are always looking for volunteers, regardless of whether or not you can sew. All are welcome here.  

Bailey Clark serves as the Communications Coordinator for World Relief Memphis. With a background in journalism and advertising, she is passionate about storytelling and its power to make a difference.