Posts Tagged ‘Chicagoland’
Three Stories of Welcoming Refugees Across the U.S.
Did you know that World Relief Chicagoland is just one office location among 17 other U.S. offices of World Relief? As we welcome refugees and serve immigrants throughout the Chicago area, we know that across the country, other offices are doing their part to welcome new arrivals to their cities! Each shares a vision for creating communities where immigrants and refugees thrive. And each has powerful stories to share of the people who come to the U.S. after leaving their home country.
The three stories below are from World Relief offices in Washington state, Memphis, Tennessee, and North Texas. Each features a courageous and resilient family. Each family experienced a tragedy that forced them to flee. And yet each story also shows evidence of hope and a future ahead.
Amira admits, “I never expected to be a refugee.“
For Amira, life felt almost perfect… then the United States invaded Iraq and her life changed forever. She started as a top student studying linguistics. Her work and research made her a university professor. She was surrounded by family. Even after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Amira stayed for three years. She wanted to rebuild her country. But then it became too dangerous to stay…
Read Amira’s story of coming to the U.S. from Iraq as a refugee and about how today, she speaks up as an advocate for refugees and caseworker with World Relief Tri-Cities in Washington state.
Nazia worries for her friends and family in Afghanistan. “It’s not one person, two people, not even one hundred—it’s more like a million people.”
When Nazia, her husband, and three children arrived in Memphis in 2019, they came with the hope of providing a safe future for their daughters and son. Because Nazia’s husband worked on special projects for the U.S. and Nazia worked for Western media, their whole family had been at risk in Afghanistan. Threats from the Taliban forced the family from their home. Seeking safety, the family sold their belongings and traveled to the U.S. on Special Immigrant Visas. In 2019, they arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, where the long work of rebuilding their lives began.
Read Nazia’s story about how World Relief Memphis is helping her family as they dream of their future in the United States…while mourning and praying for their home country of Afghanistan.
David says that the most important thing to know about Afghans is that “Whenever a guest comes to our house, we’re happy for it. We say that guest is not only our guest, it’s God’s guest that came to our house.”
At World Relief North Texas, David practices his culture’s value of hospitality. As an Afghan immigrant, he uses his knowledge of both U.S. and Afghan culture to help the World Relief North Texas team welcome the influx of people arriving from Afghanistan. David and his family escaped Afghanistan in August, so he easily recalls the rush to flee to safety. And he remembers World Relief’s welcome to his family just a few months ago.
Read David’s story of how his experience working with Americans in Afghanistan as a translator is helping welcome other new arrivals to the U.S. through cultural orientation while his own family adjusts to life in Texas.
Read More Stories of Hope
María’s Story: Letter from a New U.S. Citizen
Jerome’s Story: Becoming A U.S. Citizen After Escaping Violence
What Is It Like to Intern with World Relief?
Real Responsibilities, Meaningful Experience
Are you looking for an internship where you can gain practical experience? Do you have a passion for justice or a desire to learn about issues faced by refugee and immigrants?
From the start, as a World Relief Chicagoland intern, you have real responsibilities. With that comes the opportunity to engage directly with the immigrants and refugees that the organization serves. Alongside World Relief’s full-time staff, interns get to build relationships and play an active role in meaningful work. We think that makes World Relief internships pretty special.
World Relief’s interns play an important role in executing tasks and facilitating activities throughout each department. Some interns support a program area like Education or Immigration Legal Services. Others learn about community engagement and marketing or use their data and research skills.
And when the internship is over, interns move forward with valuable skills and practical knowledge about immigrant and refugee services.
To help you imagine what your experience interning with World Relief could be like, we talked to Kaitlin Liebling. Kaitlin is a senior at Wheaton College who talked with us about what she learned through her internship with the Employment Services team and why she recommends that other students apply to intern with World Relief.
Meet Kaitlin, Former Intern
Hi Kaitlin! Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?
I’m currently a student at Wheaton College and I’m a double major in International Relations and Spanish. I’m currently in my fourth year and from West Chicago, Illinois originally.
When I came into Wheaton, I was unsure about what I wanted to study. I had no idea what International Relations was, but then I took one intro class in International Relations, and I loved it. I had always read the news a lot, been interested in what was going on outside of the U.S., so I landed on International Relations very quickly.
How did you get connected to World Relief and what interested you about interning with us?
I have known about World Relief my whole life from growing up in the area, but didn’t know much aside from that the organization helps refugees. Initially, I got an email that World Relief was looking for interns for the fall, and I needed an internship for my International Relations major requirements. I read over the intern responsibilities online, and I thought, “It sounds like a really cool opportunity, I need an internship, I like the mission of World Relief, it sounds really interesting to help refugees.” I applied and got the internship!
How did you end up on the Employment Services team?
On the application, you can put your top two department choices. I believe I put Employment Services and Immigration Legal Services, and Courtney [Internship coordinator at World Relief Chicagoland] and I talked in the interview [about the requirements for each team]. I thought, “Let’s do Employment Services. It sounds interesting. I’m not quite sure what that means, but let’s try that.” Then Courtney had me interview with Dan, my supervisor on the Employment team.
How would you describe the work of Employment Services?
The job of Employment Services is to get newly arrived refugees a job within their first three months in the country. It’s super important that they get a “survival” job right away. Luckily, the department has a lot of connections with employers in the area. We help them with preparing for their interview and for the American workplace, which often has different standards for everything from hygiene to preparing a resume. And then, in the future, Employment Services helps people who have been here for six months or a year to start down a career path with the ultimate goal that they make even more money beyond their “survival” job.
What are a few things you learned in your internship?
I have a better understanding of what it means to be a refugee now than I had before. I honestly don’t know if I had met a refugee before my internship. Obviously, I’m not a refugee and I haven’t experienced that for myself, but I have now talked with dozens of people from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and all these other countries. I have gotten to know a lot of them on driving trips to the doctor, the food pantry, to get a permit at the DMV…
I feel like I understand better now how difficult a decision it was to leave their home country, and how much they miss their old lives. While they’re grateful to be in America, they also really miss their home countries. It wasn’t necessarily their choice to come to America, it was really for safety reasons a lot of the time. I understand now how difficult it is to adapt to a country that is so different from your home country. There are so many different customs and cultural things.
I really think it increased my understanding of their situation, my empathy for refugees, and my support for them… from having the one-on-one interaction.
What were your favorite things about interning? Why should other students consider joining World Relief as an intern?
The variety of the intern work I did was really cool and engaging. I did a lot of different things during my internship. I did office work, I helped manage and compile documents, and I created new documents for Career Pathways, but I also drove people places and helped with the job club as well. Every day, I came in for my internship not knowing what the day was going to look like and what I was going to do. I liked that!
I loved working with the Employment Services team. Everyone there was so nice and so supportive. I felt like I could ask anyone any question and they would be happy to help me out. We were really a team. It’s a good group of people that you would want to work with.
Where there any ways that you came to understand your faith and role in the world as a Christian differently as a result of this internship?
It put into practice the call from Christ and the Gospels to love the foreigner and welcome the stranger. You can see that throughout the Old Testament. That God exhibits special care for the foreigner because they can often be forgotten or left behind. And they often need extra resources to help them in their new country. World Relief does this practically. I think it’s been very rewarding work. And a way for me to see my faith lived out in practical ways to help people and welcome them to my country.
And through practical means! On the Employment Services team, I did lots of resume reviews. I got resumes that were 7, 8, 9 pages long from refugees. That’s what’s normal in their countries, but a way of loving them and welcoming them to America is to say, “This needs to be one page and one page only for most jobs.” That’s a way to serve them where I could see my faith lived out through my work.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would encourage students who are interested in World Relief or need an internship to really consider doing it with World Relief. It’s very rewarding work. You learn a lot about other cultures. You meet a wide variety of people. And I think especially with all of the Afghan refugees coming in, more help from other interns would be appreciated. If you have a heart for refugees, I hope that you would consider an internship with World Relief.
Apply to Intern Today
Find out how you can contribute your knowledge, talent, and passion for creating welcoming communities. Apply to be a World Relief intern today!
Not looking for more than an internship? Consider one of our open positions!
4 Resources From World Relief Staff That Have Shaped Their Journey: MLK Day
At World Relief, we are committed to welcoming refugees and immigrants as they rebuild their lives in the United States. Together, we’ve come alongside over 40,000 people seeking refuge in Chicagoland. Yet there still remains over 80 million people displaced from their homes around the world. This reminds us of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” So, on this day that commemorates his work and legacy, a few World Relief Chicagoland staff took time to share a resource (or two) that has impacted them personally. We hope these personal recommendations from staff will be helpful or thought-provoking on our collective journey to be a welcoming community for refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants.
1. The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri
Author Dina Nayeri in her book The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You shares her own story and the stories of other migrants she’s met over a span of decades. She writes with profound insightfulness and passion for supporting others in their journeys. I am grateful for the ways she’s helped my perspective and empathy in my work to grow.
– Rebecca Larsen, World Relief Chicagoland Preferred Communities Program Manager
2. Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
With a new baby at home, my reading materials have shifted a bit this year, but I’ve really enjoyed reading our daughter stories from diverse writers and backgrounds to start to give her a sense of the world around her. Dreamers is a wonderful story of a mother and daughter who come to the U.S. dreaming of a better life. The illustrations are also amazing and include a lot of “mariposas” (butterflies), a symbol associated with support for immigrants.
– Andy DeBoer, World Relief Chicagoland Grants Manager
3. The Intersected Project
I serve as editor-in-chief at an intersectional publication, part of a larger racial equity project that my best friend and I founded in 2020. Intersected Project’s mission is to empower individuals to take practical actions for racial equity in their communities. We have put out several resources that touch on the intersection of race and immigration.
This has been helpful on my journey because I learn as I research and edit, and stay involved in the collective work for liberation.
– Katelyn Skye Bennett, World Relief Chicagoland Employment Counselor
4. “Goats and Soda” & “The Better Samaritan”
Every time I read NPR “Goats and Soda” blog or Christianity Today‘s “The Better Samaritan” blog, I gain a new perspective on global issues and how people in the United States can engage with hard topics like poverty, migration, mental health care for refugees, charitable giving, economic research, and so much more. The “Goats and Soda” blog from NPR is journalism from reporters across different countries and cultures and really sheds light on topics too often overlooked but which deeply impact the most vulnerable people around the world.
The “Better Samaritan” blog challenges Christians to love our neighbors in practical ways while also “using our hearts and smarts” as we seek to do good and provides interesting perspectives from people working in areas like public health, disaster recovery, refugee resettlement, and more. Both blogs are such a great way to learn something new and gain a broader perspective into what our neighbors experience and how we can engage.
– Carrie Woodward, World Relief Chicagoland Foundations Manager
What’s your next step?
We realize there are countless other resources for you to read or listen to the stories of refugees and immigrants. On the one hand, maybe that’s where you’ll go next. If so, check out 4 Ways to Reach, Watch, and Listen to Powerful Immigrant and Refugee Stories. On the other hand, maybe your next step is to get more involved. If so, here’s how you can volunteer and advocate with World Relief Chicagoland. Regardless of your next step, we hope these resources inspire your journey to love and welcome refugees and immigrants.
Continue Reading:
New Opportunity in the U.S.: Jenny’s Story
“Life in the Congo…was just good. It’s one of the most friendly places and a community of togetherness.”
This is how Jenny began her story. Describing what life looked like before. Before she was forced to flee. Before members of her family died. And before she left the home that she loved.
“It became a different place,” Jenny told us. And at the age of 13 years old, Jenny left the Democratic Republic of Congo to become a refugee, living in a Namibia refugee settlement for seven years before coming to the United States.
And though there were bright spots, like the chance of a quality education, Jenny and her family faced immense challenges too. She saw people acting out of desperation. Doing terrible things simply to put food on the table.
“I had all these hopes and dreams that I keep talking about. I think I was nineteen years old…so all of my dreams are just shattered.”
Jenny, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo
How did Jenny’s story change from that of a young woman questing for education and a better life to someone seizing that brighter future? Watch the video below to see Jenny share her story of taking a chance and receiving new opportunity.
Refugee Resettlement
For more than 40 years, World Relief has welcomed refugees like Jenny into community across Chicagoland. You can help young women like Jenny achieve their biggest dreams by joining our mission to welcome. Become a volunteer with World Relief Chicagoland. Whether by offering friendship, serving as an English language tutor, or helping set up homes for new refugee arrivals, you can make a life-changing impact for someone like Jenny. Someone who has risked at all at the chance of a better life.
Learn about World Relief Chicagoland’s work resettling refugees here and watch other videos of hope on our YouTube channel!
More like this:
Volunteer Impact Video: Abdul and Yao
An Update on How the H.O.M.E. Program Is Serving Asylum Seekers Throughout Chicagoland
The following update is from Hannah Thompson, World Relief Chicagoland’s Immigrant Family Services Volunteer Coordinator who works with staff and community volunteers in the H.O.M.E. program for asylum seekers.
What is H.O.M.E.?
World Relief Chicagoland created the H.O.M.E. program with the knowledge that asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable immigrants. Like refugees, asylum seekers have left their homes because of threats to their safety and well-being. And yet they do not have financial support that refugees have, and must wait for the U.S. to make a legal decision about their request for asylum. Without a way to support themselves during that months- or years-long waiting process, asylum seekers are socially, financially, and legally vulnerable.
Thanks to generous partners and volunteers, the H.O.M.E. program provides Housing, Opportunity, Mutuality (Transformative relationships), and Empowerment for asylum seekers throughout the Chicago area. By providing rental assistance and social support, World Relief Chicagoland helps asylum-seeking families rebuild their lives during the long, stressful asylum process.
News from the H.O.M.E. Front
As we closed out the year in December 2021, there were so many exciting developments with families in the H.O.M.E. program! And this is in large part thanks to the faithful partnership of churches and H.O.M.E. volunteer teams. By providing rent assistance, these partners ensure that families seeking asylum have a safe place to live.
One story that stands out focuses on a pivotal moment in the asylum process.
One asylum seeker recently received his Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). This is after months of waiting! Finally, this husband and father could open his first bank account and start a new job. This was such a joyous moment! Not long after receiving the EADs, World Relief volunteers helped him open a bank account. He is working hard in a new job while actively looking for a better position that will allow him to support his family.
You Can Welcome Families H.O.M.E.
It is all thanks to volunteer teams and financial supporters that asylum seeking families can reach important milestones like these. And that they can achieve these goals without worrying about how to pay rent or being at risk of homelessness.
World Relief Chicagoland needs more partners like this who can help us reach more asylum seekers. Whether by volunteering, giving rent assistance, or both, you can make the difference and help welcome families “home.”
Learn More
If you’re interested in learning more about the H.O.M.E. Program and how you can get involved, contact Hannah Thompson, at hthompson@wr.org. Together, we can support the well-being of asylum seekers as they seek safety.
Something New: A Devotional for 2022
by Gaby Keim, Changemaker Team Lead
With a very unpredictable year behind us, we step forward into 2022. We may find ourselves yet again in the unpredictability, but we can have confidence that God is about to do something new just as he has done for generations before. What could that “something new” be for you in 2022?
Making a Way
2021 began the same way it ended: with a surge in the pandemic. With all that has come in the past year, there is a wide range of emotions each of us are met with.
Youth tutors helped children and youth navigate the complexity of e-learning at the beginning of 2021 in isolating times. English tutors found innovative ways to help students learn English virtually against seemingly impossible odds. Countless legal aid appointments were completed providing hope where it felt hopeless. And when tragedy struck in Afghanistan, so many World Relief partners came alongside newly arriving individuals and families setting up apartments for people to call their new home. There was a lot to navigate.
In such a chaotic and overwhelming year, I am drawn back to how chaotic and overwhelming it must have been for Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. When word reached Pharaoh and his officials that the Israelites had fled, he changed his mind and pursued them, eventually catching up.
The Israelites cried out for deliverance from the Egyptians, and God met them in a very tangible way. He called upon Moses to raise his hands, and the Red Sea parted for them to walk through.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God looks back upon this moment in history:
I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea, I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.
Isaiah 43:16-17 NLT
God looks back to not only recount how he has been there for the Israelites, but to show how he will always be there for his people.
It makes me think about how he made a way in 2021 within the hardship, chaos, and unpredictability. What waters did God part for you walk through this past year?
Created for a New Work
Isaiah served as God’s mouthpiece to the Israelites and called them beyond what had already happened in human history. He spoke the direct words of God:
But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT
I attend a church plant and our new space is currently undergoing renovations. With that, we held our Christmas service at a church who graciously offered their space to us in the neighborhood. When I walked into the church, I was struck by how the ceilings soared, and stained glass stretched high. Church architecture has historically been designed to draw our eyes and hearts upward to Jesus Christ. Likewise in this passage, God is calling us to direct our eyes upward.
With the past year being anything but ordinary, the prophet Isaiah’s words provide us hope. His words tell us that even when circumstances seem bleak, God is making a pathway through the wilderness; and even when situations seem dry and difficult, God is creating rivers that flow.
As we enter into the new year, where do you need to look up to see Christ?
Seeing it Through for Eternity
Have you thought about how coming into a new year the picture we have on our minds is the birth of Christ? God bending himself to us, coming in human form as a baby, serves as a tangible reminder that God is at work. He came to meet with us and be with us.
And this is what God tells us next through Isaiah:
The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and the owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make them rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
Isaiah 43:20-21 NLT
God has yet to give up on his people and he has no plans to. As we step into a new year, we have a surefooted faith that God will be with us. He will be with us as we welcome hundreds of refugees and immigrants to Chicagoland. Furthermore, he will work in us to transform our heart, mind, and body to be more like him so we are ready to welcome just as he has welcomed us.
Isaiah tells us that refreshing is coming. Where do you need refreshment, so you can walk into the “something new” God has for you in 2022?
A New Year Prayer for You
God, thank you for helping us to make it through this difficult year. Thank you that you’ve carried us through the uncertainty of deep waters, through the flames of trials, and through the pain of hard losses. We are constantly aware of how much we need you, your grace, your strength, your power working through even the toughest days.
Thank you for your reminder that both in seasons of celebration and in seasons of brokenness, you are still with us. For you never leave us. Thank you for your powerful presence in our lives, that we can be assured your heart is towards us, your eyes are over us, and your ears are open to our prayers.
As we begin a new year, we choose to press in close to you and keep you first in our hearts and lives. Without you, we would surely fail, but with you, there is great hope. Thank you for your healing power, thank you for bringing us into this new season up ahead. We look forward to all that you still have in store. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Stories of Hope from 2021:
Reflections on 2021 from Executive Director Susan Sperry
The following letter is from Susan Sperry, World Relief Chicagoland’s Executive Director, who oversees World Relief’s work across three offices in Aurora, Chicago (Albany Park), and DuPage County (Carol Stream) and shared her leadership reflections at the close of 2021. Read more of Susan’s thoughts by following her on Twitter!
To all of World Relief Chicagoland’s generous supporters, partners, volunteers, and advocates,
As I reflect on 2021, I want to share my heartfelt thanks for each of you. I am continuously inspired and amazed by how you, a community of faithful volunteers, partners, supporters, and advocates, show up to love our immigrant and refugee neighbors well. You give your time, talent, material resources, and of yourselves.
Our Shared Calling
In Matthew 25, Jesus directly links himself with people in vulnerable situations. He tells the disciples that when they welcome the stranger, they welcome Him. For those of us who follow Jesus, this call is for us to recognize the image of God in all people. It asks us to see that when we welcome refugees and other immigrants in tangible ways, we welcome Jesus.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matthew 25:35 (ESV)
You Answered the Call in 2021
In 2021, we saw you answer this call again and again.
- You helped World Relief Chicagoland welcome more new arrivals than in the previous two years combined. Together, we began new relationships that will continue as we walk with families for years to come.
- You mobilized family members, churches, and workplaces to generously share the essentials that newly-arrived refugee families need when they start to rebuild their lives.
- You volunteered – showing up on Zoom calls, in church gymnasiums, at apartment complexes, and to airport pickups. And by showing up, you offered friendship to our new neighbors and contributed to creating a community of welcome.
This year, the Abadi* family arrived in the U.S. unsure of how they would be received. They knew that in many ways, their home country, religion, and ethnicity would set them apart from their new neighbors. And yet you showed up to welcome them. You provided furniture, household essentials, and helped set up their new apartment. When the Abadis went to take a tour of the school their children would attend, students walked up to greet their new classmates. The teachers welcomed them warmly.
These small actions of students and teachers walking alongside the Abadi family reflected the power of community and of coming together to welcome and help one another.
Though rebuilding a life in a new country is never easy, the Abadis marveled, “We never expected a welcome like this.”
Thank You
In these and so many other ways, we saw you give generously. You brought your creative ideas to the table. You committed to welcoming immigrants and refugees in Chicagoland and beyond.
I am humbled by the ways that you have joined World Relief Chicagoland to serve families in vulnerable situations. And I am abundantly grateful to partner together with you in this work. Thank you. As we move forward together into 2022, I pray that we continue stepping into many opportunities to love and serve our neighbors. And that we can receive and reflect God’s love in vitally important ways.
Along with the entire staff of World Relief Chicagoland, I wish you and your loved ones a peace-filled season and new year.
Susan Sperry, Executive Director of World Relief Chicagoland
*The name of the family in this story was changed to protect their privacy.
The Christmas Story and Asylum-Seekers
After the wise men left, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Jesus and Mary, his mother. Why? Because Herod was searching for the newborn to kill him (Matthew 2:1-23). The story of Christ’s birth gives us a picture of the holy family fleeing, hiding, and seeking refuge. It provides a glimpse into what our refugee, immigrant, and asylum-seeking neighbors experience.
Over 80 million people across the globe are displaced from their homes. Many individuals have had to flee because of persecution, war, or violence and are seeking safety in a new country. In 2019, World Relief Chicagoland began providing case management and employment services to asylum-seekers at our Chicago office. We sat down with the Asylum Project creator, Angelica Barahona, to talk more about it.
Q&A with Angelica, Asylum Project Creator
World Relief: Who is an asylum-seeker?
Angelica: An asylum-seeker is someone who enters the United States seeking protection from persecution. There could also be other factors harming them or their family. Asylum-seekers get to the United States in different ways and upon arrival they request asylum. When applying for asylum, one must have a credible fear of persecution. They need to also submit evidence of persecution in another country.
World Relief: What is the Asylum Project at World Relief?
Angelica: We have realized that asylum-seekers must go through a very lengthy application process. Throughout this journey, they have little to no support. Therefore, the purpose of the program is to provide case management services and employment services to asylum-seekers while they are going through the process. Usually, an asylum-seeker can wait up to five years for their case to be approved.
The process really is an uphill battle. World Relief Chicagoland helps asylum-seekers navigate the systems by building partnerships with legal providers, medical providers, and childcare services. Ultimately, the Asylum Project helps asylum-seekers receive the proper support. It also helps them figure out what it is they need and where they can go for help.
World Relief: Can you give some examples of World Relief’s asylum work?
Angelica: Most families reach out to us through a referral. In many cases, referrals are either made by a friend, family member, or another provider.
When they first get in contact with World Relief, I will always do an assessment with them. It’s really just talking with them about their life. I talk to them about what is going on, the different challenges they are facing, and the dreams they have. Next, we put together a set of goals we can achieve in the short term. It looks different for every family.
For some asylum-seekers, they will need to get their children in school and their house set up. For others, they may have been here for a long time and need employment authorization or a new job. Since starting this project, we have been able to serve over 120 families.
World Relief: How does this reflect God’s calling?
Angelica: I really think this work is right on in showing God’s heart and God’s mission from the moment Christ started his public ministry. He wants the world to be saved and wants people from across the nations to hear his Word. He came for that purpose.
There are commands in God’s word we cannot ignore. These commands are related to serving the poor in our community, serving the vulnerable, making room at the table, and being attentive to the foreigner. All of this is embedded in God’s Word. And this is what World Relief is doing coming alongside asylum-seekers, as well as other refugees and immigrants.
It requires for us to have a solid view of the Kingdom and the hope ahead. Whenever we are faced with pain and injustice like many of the families are (and we are, too, by listening to their stories), faith is what really empowers us. A lot of the people I work with share a deep faith. It is exciting to look ahead and think about the contributions each family will continue to make in our community. It is humbling how God can use so little in us to multiply his immense grace.
Creating change isn’t easy, it’s possible when we move together. To learn more about how you can get involved, visit here.
4 Ways to Read, Watch, and Listen to Powerful Immigrant and Refugee Stories
At World Relief, we love to bring you inspiring and meaningful stories about the immigrants and refugees arriving in Chicagoland. Yet we are all part of an even bigger story – of migration, change, poverty, and global factors that impact all of us. To give you insight into this bigger story, we put together this list of four resources in varying formats – podcasts, a film documentary, a book and articles. Each one gives the audience the chance to see the bigger picture through the eyes of immigrants and refugees. We hope these stories move your heart and that you feel inspired to join the work needed to create a better future.
Podcasts
This American Life, “693: Abdi the American”
What is it? This podcast episode from This American Life returns to a story from years prior of Abdi, a Somali refugee living in Kenya, who won a visa lottery to come to the U.S. as a refugee. And before he can make it to the United States, the police start raiding his neighborhood and targeting refugees. This story picks up three weeks after Abdi finally became a U.S. citizen in Maine. Take some time to listen to his account from years before of winning a visa lottery and then facing incredible obstacles before making it to the United States.
NPR’s Code Switch Podcast, “What Does It Mean to Be A ‘Nation of Immigrants’?”
What is it? NPR’s Code Switch Podcast specialized in sharing stories about culture and race that are rooted in current events. Although the events that inspired this podcast occurred in 2018, this episode remains relevant because it also explores the bigger picture of how immigrants fit into the U.S. as a country – and the challenges many face after arrival. Through an interview with refugee and immigration law expert Hiroshi Motomura, this episode dives into topics like family-based immigration, the history of how immigrants have been treated, and how it feels to be an immigrant in the United States.
Beyond Soundbites Podcast, Episodes 17 and 18 “The Reason I’m Here” in the “Searching for the Personhood of Refugees” Series
What is it? The Beyond Soundbites podcast takes a faith-informed approach to exploring the complex refugee experience. Episodes 17 and 18 explore the story of Trang Tran, who arrived to the U.S. from Vietnam as a baby thanks to the Refugee Act of 1980. Trang invites listeners to join her as she pieces her story together and seeks to understand her own family’s story. Also, many of the creators and contributors to the Beyond Soundbites podcast have long-term connections with World Relief. And they apply their own passion for welcoming immigrants and refugees to every aspect of the podcast.
Movie
Human Flow by Ai Wei Wei
What is it? Human Flow is a stunning and epic documentary film by Ai Wei Wei, an internationally renowned artist who applies his creativity to visualizing global mass displacement. Ai Wei Wei explores the tension between the enormous scale of displacement and the poignance of individual stories. And since the film was released in 2017, the global displacement crisis has only grown, which makes the film’s mission to understand the experience of displaces people and promote a belief in everyone’s unique value more relevant than ever. And through powerful visuals, interviews and stories, the film makes the global refugee crisis feel real in a very personal way.
Book
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil
What is it? This autobiography tells the story of a young woman who is a refugee and whose family fled their home when she was only six years old. Spanning years, the book traces her family’s journey through refugee camps in seven African countries until Wamariya eventually makes it to the United States as a refugee. However, the story doesn’t end there…
“It’s strange, how you go from being a person who is away from home to a person with no home at all. You are unwanted, by everyone.”
Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil
The Girl Who Smiled Beads describes a family’s struggle to hold onto their dignity. Their fight to stay together. And the lingering trauma that lasts far past the actual violence they experienced. Even after arriving safely in the U.S., Wamariya describes wanting to challenge stereotypes and throughout the book, she pushes back. Should you see her as a poor, grateful, exotic refugee? No, she is a person of agency, feelings, and unique experience.
Article
NPR’s Goats and Soda, Stunning Photos Depict Migrants ‘As They’d Rather Be Seen’ by Malaka Gharib
What is it? We have all seen heart-wrenching images of refugees and immigrants suffering, as oppressed and victims of violence. And in contrast, this article profiles a photo exhibit called Another Way Home. The art show provides a different narrative. It shows people how they want to be seen. And it does so by featuring 13 immigrant, migrant, and refugee photographers, artists, and storytellers and showcasing their works of art.
What will you learn next?
We hope that these resources help you connect to the stories of refugees and immigrants: people who come from different backgrounds, places, and stories but have dreams and goals for their lives. Ultimately, this is a launchpad. There are countless stories out there of people who overcame obstacles, faced incredible challenges, and are rebuilding their lives after loss and displacement. Because of that, we hope you will think of this as a starting place. Whose story will you hear next?
Continue reading:
Abdul and Yao: Story of Impact
Holiday Gift Guide 2021
Welcome to World Relief Chicagoland’s first annual holiday gift guide! We’ve created a holiday gift guide that creates change with every gift you buy.
When you purchase a gift from the holiday gift guide, you’ll be a part of building welcoming communities for refugees and immigrants.
So, what are you waiting for? This holiday season, give a gift that gives back.
World Relief Box from Anchor of Hope Box
Send hope to a loved-one’s doorstep (or your own!) with our exclusive World Relief gift box. We’ve partnered with Anchor of Hope Box to create a unique gift featuring beautiful, handmade items crafted by refugees, survivors of trafficking and people experiencing displacement around the world. Each box provides hope in the form of dignified and sustainable employment to people in vulnerable situations.
Order by December 14th for boxes to arrive by Christmas.
Re:new
Shop beautifully created bags, accessories, and more at Re:new. Re:new offers free sewing classes to refugee women in Chicagoland and then whenever possible, hires the graduates of the program to work in their studio and sell their items through their store.
Endiro Coffee
For the coffee aficionado in your life, locally based Endiro Coffee have a coffee subscription that your loved one is sure to enjoy.
Whitney Winkler Calendar
Bring some art into the everyday with this limited-edition calendar from Memphis-based artist Whitney Winkler. 100% of profits support local World Relief efforts.
The Happy Givers Collection
A gift that does good and looks good. The Happy Givers World Relief Collection is quality apparel with a purpose — perfect for the person in your life who likes to make a statement.
Refugee Bath Co.
Love. Energy. Nourish. Soothe. These are just a few of the words used to describe the bath bombs from Refugee Bath Co. whose mission is to provide opportunities for refugees in Washington to thrive.
prettyinside. Facial Masks
For the woman (or man!) in your life who wants their outside to shine as brightly as their inside, pick up a few face masks from Musee Bath’s newest line.
Hawa Images
Mark a special moment in your life with a photo package from Hawa Images. Studio owner Roxanne Engstrom believes in the power of story to inspire people to empathy and action.
Pen + Pillar Stationary
For the writer and kind-hearted giver in your life, shop owners Taylor and Justin have created a series of notebooks, greeting cards and art prints that your loved one is sure to enjoy.
Give the gift that keeps giving.
For the person in your life who is passionate about building welcoming communities for refugees and immigrants, gift a membership to Monthly Partners – World Relief Chicagoland’s monthly giving community.
Through their gifts each month, Monthly Partners partner with World Relief to create lasting change in Chicagoland for refugees and immigrants. Together, we equip immigrants and refugees to overcome barriers, achieve sustainable livelihoods, and seize a brighter future as they rebuild their lives in the United States.
Right now, their full first year will be matched dollar for dollar up to $50,000!
Gift Monthly Partners and spread the gift of lasting change.