Posts Tagged ‘Immigration’
A Spirit of Welcome: Volunteering at the Northwest Detention Center RV
Earlier this year, before COVID-19 transformed the ways in which we work and travel, I had the privilege of visiting World Relief’s office in Seattle. The energy in the Seattle office is incredible. English classes, job coaching, meetings with newly arrived families, immigration legal services — the list goes on.
One of the most meaningful parts of my trip was visiting the Northwest Detention Center. In an industrial area outside of downtown Tacoma sits a nondescript cinderblock building that houses thousands of detainees from countries around the world.
Recognizing the incredible stress and anxiety that detainees often experience, World Relief’s Detention Center ministry staff offers spiritual support to those who have been detained. And thankfully, World Relief’s support and care isn’t just limited to those inside the detention center.
In an RV parked outside the detention center gates, World Relief offers released detainees some much-needed hospitality through a Welcome Center run by our partner, AID Northwest. Last year, 274 men and women were welcomed and cared for in the RV Welcome Center by volunteers like Amanda Carlson.
I recently had the chance to talk with Amanda about her experience as an RV Welcome Center volunteer.
Hi, Amanda! How did you first hear about World Relief’s Detention Center ministry and how long have you been volunteering?
I’ve been volunteering for a year-and-a-half and I serve once a month. I had heard of World Relief, but decided to get more involved after learning about the new administration’s rules limiting immigration. I went to a meeting and heard Scott Arbeiter (World Relief’s President) speak and then, Stephanie (World Relief’s Post-Release Coordinator for the Detention Center) came and talked to my church, Urban Grace in downtown Tacoma, about the needs of detainees. It turned out that she had an office right here in our church building, so I signed up for the volunteer training.
Tell me a little bit more about what the Detention Center is and why we have an RV parked outside of it.
The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma is one of the largest immigration detention centers in the nation. People are detained for a number of reasons — not having the right paperwork, illegally crossing the border, or legally claiming asylum and being detained while their court cases are processed. Some people are there for a short time and many are there for quite a long time.
When people are released, there is nothing there for them. It’s a long walk to the bus station or to get someplace where you could make a phone call or charge your phone. The RV is there to meet them as soon as they walk out of the detention center gates. We give newly released detainees a chance to catch their breath and figure out their next steps.
It’s always really fun to welcome people to the United States. We provide backpacks for everyone because most people come out with a hodgepodge of belongings and lots of paperwork. We offer them snacks and drinks, give them toiletries and have phones and iPads to help people contact relatives or make travel arrangements. There’s also a big collection of clothing that people can go through. Some people come out in the Detention Center uniform of gray sweatpants. Some people come out wearing what they were detained in, so if they were detained in the summer they might be wearing shorts but now it’s the dead of winter and they need warmer clothes. People are so happy to go pick out some new things for themselves. We want to do everything we can to try and facilitate a smooth transition for someone who has just been released.
How has volunteering at the RV shifted your perspective on immigration or impacted your faith?
I was so surprised at how many nationalities are represented in the Detention Center. I ignorantly thought that most people would be from Mexico or from Latin America, but there are literally people from all over the world. More importantly, I have never met people who seem so rootless. People seeking asylum often have no support and no connection. They either had everything taken from them because of violence and conflict in their home countries or they had to leave it all behind.
They’ve left their family, children, everything — in search of safety and a better life. All they have is this little stack of papers that they have been released with and then what we are providing them and that is it. I have so many roots here in the U.S.– family, a modest savings account, a home and citizenship in a powerful country that will protect me. I often take these things for granted, but these people have none of it at that moment. While they are incredibly independent people because they have gone through this huge thing on their own, they’re also incredibly dependent on the goodwill of others to help them rebuild their lives.
Are there any memorable stories that you would like to share?
The story that comes to mind is one of a young woman who was from Cameroon. She had been at the RV for a few hours and I ended up taking her to the airport. She shared that she was impatient to get on a plane. I learned that she was flying to reconnect with her husband and her one-year-old twin babies that she had been separated from for four months. She was heading to Denver, so I pulled up some pictures of Denver on my phone and showed them to her, and she just cried. She was so excited to get there and build a new life with her family.
How has COVID-19 impacted the RV welcome center?
Unfortunately, all visitation and church services inside the detention center have stopped. The RV is still functioning, but it’s all happening in a tarped tent outside the RV so we can maintain appropriate social distancing. Everything has been loaded into tubs that can be moved outside. Thankfully it isn’t winter anymore so it’s been okay so far.
What is something that you know now that you didn’t know before you started serving at the RV Welcome Center?
That God’s love is alive and well, functioning and serving outside of the traditional Christian box. World Relief is right in the middle of an issue that can be so politically controversial in the Christian community, but as I have expanded my faith and walked into different communities, I’ve loved discovering how vibrant God’s love is in communities that I was previously unaware of. And I’m very thankful that World Relief is willing to be a part of it. Maybe in the fringes where it’s messier and controversial is where God’s love is the most evident.
What would you say to someone who is wanting to get involved with World Relief or serve in some way but is maybe hesitant?
There are so many ways you can get involved. With my lifestyle and family, I can only volunteer one day a month. It’s so minimal but has impacted me so much. I’ve learned a ton, I talk to people about my experiences, I bring people with me to shadow. You can send letters to people in the Detention Center and when the virus calms down you can go visit. It is a real one-on-one, person-to-person way to serve a really vulnerable community. A lot of times with volunteering, you can’t actually get so close to the people you want to help. But the detention center ministry lets you get close so it’s a really amazing way to try to help a little bit.
As we celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are so thankful for amazing people like Amanda who partner with us to bring God’s love to vulnerable and marginalized people around the world.
Scarcity, Immigration and Having Enough
In the human world, abundance does not happen automatically. It is created when we have the sense to choose community, to come together to celebrate and share our common store.
– Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
Seven Years of Waiting
Arooj leans back against the refrigerator in her dimly lit kitchen, her head resting heavily atop postcards and family photos. She holds a brightly lit cell phone out in front of her.
“Yeah, but they never informed me clearly of what clearance they need,” her husband Sunny’s voice is heard from the speaker. “They are only sending me the emails — we are waiting for some clearance from the U.S., please wait… So I am living here alone, you are living there alone.”
Arooj closes her eyes, breathing deeply before she speaks.
“Yeah. Just keep praying…Be strong. Be faithful. Everything will be alright.”
Arooj and Sunny fled their home in Pakistan in 2013 when Muslim extremists threatened to kill them and their families. Arooj made it to Sri Lanka, but Sunny was caught and kept from joining her. While Arooj was resettled in the United States in 2017, her husband’s resettlement has yet to be approved. The couple has only been physically together for six months out of the last seven years. Now they’re waiting — waiting on a process that seems ever-changing and ever more difficult to complete.
A Culture of Scarcity
The United States has historically been a place of refuge for people fleeing violence and persecution, but drastic changes in immigration and refugee resettlement policies have left many, like Sunny, in a state of limbo. At its best, the U.S. has been known as a place of hope and opportunity, where dreams can come true regardless of race, socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural background. Recently, however, our national rhetoric has shifted. Phrases like, ‘we’re full,’ ‘there’s no room for you,’ ‘you’ll drain our resources,’ and ‘we don’t have enough’ have replaced a culture of compassion and unearthed a deeply seated culture of scarcity.
In 2012, author and researcher, Brene Brown published a book titled, Daring Greatly. In it, she discusses a cultural shift she’s noticed in the United States over the last several years:
“The world has never been an easy place,” she writes, “but the past decade has been traumatic for so many people… From 9/11, multiple wars, and the recession to catastrophic natural disasters and the increase in random violence and school shootings, [we’ve survived] events that have torn at our sense of safety with such force that we’ve experienced trauma…
“Worrying about scarcity is our culture’s version of post-traumatic stress. It happens when we’ve been through too much, and rather than coming together to heal (which requires vulnerability), we’re angry and scared and at each other’s throats.”
That description is eerily accurate of our current culture.
If you’re like me, you struggle with scarcity almost daily. You wake up thinking there’s not enough time to get everything done, not enough resources to get what you want, not enough know-how to accomplish your goals… simply, not enough. But if scarcity and this pervading belief that you don’t have enough — that we don’t have enough — is driving the policies we support and the rhetoric we use, then what does that say about the God we serve?
God’s Promise to Us
All throughout scripture, God promises to provide for our every need. He says to look at the birds of the air and how he feeds them. Are we not much more valuable than they? He also promises to keep us safe, to be our place of refuge and to shelter us beneath his wings. And at the same time, he calls us to be compassionate — to care for the vulnerable and welcome the foreigner among us. We take this call seriously at World Relief and consider it an essential task for followers of Jesus.
At World Relief, we do not advocate for open borders. But we do advocate for policies that are both compassionate and secure. These ideals need not be mutually exclusive. We also advocate and call for a church — God’s people — to be a voice of compassion and to trust God when he says that he is enough and he will provide enough.
Perhaps you’ve heard it said that anytime there are gaps in our knowledge, fear fills those gaps. If we’re fearfully believing that immigrants and other refugees are draining our system and we don’t have enough, could it be that we just don’t know enough about the facts?
The Facts
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report that revealed between 2005 and 2014, refugees and asylees contributed $63 billion more in government revenue than they used in public services. These findings, however, were largely ignored. A fact sheet was released later that year detailing all the ways refugees spent public money without providing any of the details about how much they contribute.
What’s more, according to the National Immigration Forum, immigrants are twice as likely to start new businesses than U.S.-born citizens. Immigrants have founded more than 51% of the country’s new start-up businesses, and in 2016, these companies employed an average of 760 people.
Immigrants and refugees like Arooj are grateful for the refuge America has provided for them and are eager to rebuild their lives and contribute to our economy and our culture.
“We have a big plan, actually…” Arooj says smiling, “that whenever we have kids, one of our kids is going to go to U.S. Army… that’s what we believe!”
A Call to Trust
Author Parker Palmer once wrote that “whether the scarce resource is money or love or power or words, the true law of life is that we generate more of whatever seems scarce by trusting its supply and passing it around.”
As we move forward, let’s be conscious of the ways our internal stories and misinformation might be shaping our national narrative and choose to generate knowledge, trust and truth rather than letting scarcity and fear win out.
Learn more about Arooj and Sunny’s story.
This story is taken from “They Are Us,” a video produced by Jordan Halland.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
Friendly Soil
“…These victims of war and oppression look hopefully to the democratic countries to help them rebuild their lives and provide for the future of their children. We must not destroy their hope. The only civilized course is to enable these people to take new roots in friendly soil. “ – Harry Truman, 1947
A National Crisis
243 years ago, a vision for America was penned in our founding documents, couched in the truth that all are created equal and deserving of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These values have been reinstilled and affirmed time and time again throughout our history, and though our nation has never perfectly reflected these ideals, at our best moments we’ve proudly lived up to, and drawn strength from them.
Today, our world is facing the worst displacement crisis since WWII, with over 26 million men, women and children fleeing violence, poverty and oppression. And yet, this year, our nation will admit less than half of 1% of those searching for a place to rebuild their homes. Contrast our history with these realities and it’s hard not to conclude that America is facing an identity crisis—one which threatens to undermine an identity painstakingly forged over hundreds of years as America became a haven of hope for those seeking a safer, more promising place to build a future.
We wish it were different. This crisis is heartbreaking. It’s exhausting. And it’s painful. But we cannot, and must not lose heart.
The Less Told Story
That’s why this holiday season, we want to tell you a different story. It’s a story of love, hope and perseverance. A story of flourishing communities and biblical welcome. A story that may not be making headlines, but which moves as a powerful undercurrent, creating lasting change in small pockets across our country. It starts with the profound conviction that we are all made equal in the eyes of God, and with the belief that beneath the weary faces of those fleeing violence and oppression, hope springs eternal. Most importantly, it starts with the knowledge that love is the catalyst that makes all things possible.
This season, we chose to celebrate this story. And while we mourn the state of our nation, we choose to press on with joy, and in faith, because this is a story worth rejoicing in. One which has the power to overcome the narrative of fear in our nation and heal our deepening divisions.
This is not a singular story. It is one made up of hundreds of moments, milestones and achievements. It begins in English language classes in Chicago, legal services in Atlanta and job readiness training in Memphis. It gathers strength in community gardening projects in Seattle, trauma counseling in Winston-Salem and women’s sewing clubs in Spokane. And it overcomes all odds at college graduations in Durham, job promotions in Sacramento and citizenship ceremonies in D.C. It rewrites futures, rebuilds homes and restores belonging.
The Paradise Parking Lots
Perhaps nowhere is this story better manifested than in Kent, Washington, where a once small partnership between World Relief Seattle and Hillside Church has exploded into a transformational, citywide movement. Originally partnering with World Relief to provide space and volunteers to teach English language classes to immigrants, today the parking lot of Hillside Church, newly dubbed the Paradise Parking Plots, boasts a blossoming, 1-acre community garden.
Its community is made up of 47 families spanning 22 nations, over 1,400 volunteers, and a handful of local businesses, schools and government groups. Beyond the garden’s initial goal of providing refugees and other immigrants in vulnerable situations with a place to grow familiar foods, cultivate community and connect with the earth in their new urban environment, the Paradise Parking Plots are leading the way in Green initiatives, using rainwater cisterns to provide irrigation and addressing local flooding issues. Innovation around this project has won the Green Globe Award from King County, and provides environmental internship opportunities for local refugee high school students who then go on to mentor other youth in environmental science at World Relief’s Summer Camp. What’s more, Hillside church will soon open a commercial kitchen space for micro-enterprise cooking activities to take place, expanding opportunities and increasing the impact that the garden lots provide.
Perhaps most importantly, this project is providing a place for people from all walks of life to come together, fostering friendships between both new and long-term community members from every tribe, tongue and creed. Here, immigrants and native-born Americans are growing and flourishing together. They are finding a sense of unity, family and belonging. They are finding the community that makes ‘home’ feel like home.
A Vision for Lasting Change
The story of the Paradise Parking Plots is just one of the many parts that make up the story of what we’re doing together across the U.S., and it’s one you should feel proud to be a part of. It is a story of hope overcoming despair. Of unity over division. And of peace over fear. Above all, it is a story of love triumphing over hate. Though it’s quiet, and too often lost amidst the dominant political narratives, this story inspires us with vision and with hope. And it stands as a powerful reminder of what could be when we come together to create lasting change in our communities.
Lasting change starts with a shared vision of what could be possible, and calls people to that vision. It requires commitment and perseverance, but often the results exceed even our own expectations. This is what we hope and pray for as we work together to transform lives and communities across the U.S.
For over 40 years, we’ve welcomed and helped integrate over 300,000 refugees and other vulnerable immigrants to communities all across our nation, rebuilding lives and creating communities of love and welcome that we all feel proud to be a part of. We do so not only because we believe in this nation of immigrants, and the strength and power of America as a land of hope and opportunity for all, but because we believe it is our calling as Christians to welcome the orphan, the widow and the least of these.
Today, this calling faces more hurdles than perhaps ever before. Yet these hurdles gives us all the more reason to fight. And to fight harder. Because we believe we are called to such a time as this — to stand as light amidst the darkness, and to be the voice of compassion, justice and above all, love.
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.
Presidential Determination
Late Friday night, President Trump signed the annual presidential determination of the maximum number of refugees who could be resettled to the United States in the upcoming fiscal year. The number, 18,000, is historically low. By comparison, in 1980 the refugee ceiling was set at 231,700, and in 2016, it was set at 110,000. With 25.9 million refugees in the world, the largest number in recorded history, we’re saddened that the U.S. is doing less than ever to offer safety and freedom to refugees.
Among those shut out by this decision are many individuals who have been persecuted because of their faith, Christians included. In Fiscal Year 2015, more than 15,000 Christian refugees were resettled in the U.S. These Christian refugees came from the ten countries the U.S. State Department identifies as “countries of particular concern” for egregious violations of religious freedom, including Iran, Pakistan and Burma. By Fiscal Year 2018, that number had declined to just 3,048 Christian refugees.
The reduction in the overall number of resettled refugees also negatively impacts other persecuted religious minorities, including Yezidis who are persecuted in Iraq and Syria, Jewish refugees persecuted in Iran and Muslim refugees – including the Rohingya – from Burma.
Of the 18,000 refugees who might be allowed to be resettled in Fiscal Year 2020, the president’s determination allocates 5,000 for all religious minorities, ensuring that this year – as was the case last year and the year before – the U.S. will resettle far fewer persecuted religious minorities than our historic norm, turning our backs as a nation on those persecuted for their faith.
We encourage you to reach out to your Member of Congress and ask him or her to support legislation that would restore the U.S. refugee resettlement program so that the U.S. would once again receive at least the 95,000 refugees annually that represents the average refugee ceiling since 1980.
Matthew Soerens serves as the U.S. Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief and is the coauthor of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2018). Follow Matthew on Twitter.
Take a Number
People around the world are fleeing violence, oppression and poverty. I visited Tijuana in early October to get a firsthand look at what asylum seekers experience when they reach our border.
U.S. asylum law states that any individual arriving in the United States is allowed to request asylum, whether or not they have arrived at a designated port of arrival. Anyone wishing to claim asylum has historically been referred to an asylum officer who could then process their claim.
In 2018, however, things changed. The government instituted an informal immigration process known as metering. Under this metering process, rather than hearing the claims of asylees who arrive at the U.S. border, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents are stopping families and individuals at the border, assigning them a number and returning them to Mexico to wait until their number is called. Once their number is called, only then can they claim asylum and begin the immigration court process. Hundreds of immigrants and asylees wait months in Mexico, with no way to know when their number will be called or if their request will be approved.
CBP claims this unofficial policy was put in place to assist with the backlog of asylum claims. However, fewer claims have been processed since metering was enacted and there has been little effort to hire more claims officers. This has left me to wonder whether the process was actually put in place to help, or to deter vulnerable people from seeking the protection they so desperately need. It’s also made me wonder, “Is stopping an asylum seeker before they cross the border to make their claim even legal? Moreover, is it a violation of human rights, US immigration and international law?”
Like those waiting to seek asylum, my morning in Tijuana started early. Each day, asylum seekers gather near the border in hopes that their number will be one of the few called that day. Those who are called will finally have a chance to formally claim asylum. On this particular day, only eight numbers were called. On World Refugee Day this past summer, not a single number was called.
I arrived at 8 a.m., just as the metering process was beginning. I waited just beyond the huddle of asylum seekers and met a young man whom World Relief was representing in his asylum claim. As a university student in Venezuela, this young man had joined a group of protestors who were demonstrating against the Maduro regime. As a result, he was followed by Maduro’s men, attacked and beaten for speaking out. Sadly, this is a common story in places like Venezuela.
Fearing for his life, my new friend fled Venezuela and arrived at a legal port of entry in Tijuana in May 2019. He took his metered number and returned to Mexico to begin his wait. Two months later, however, the US government changed course and decided that anyone who had passed through another country on their way to the U.S. needed to first claim asylum in that country, before claiming it in the U.S.
Although my new friend had arrived in the U.S. before this rule was put in place, he couldn’t officially claim asylum until his number was called. Had he not been stopped at the border and forced into the metering system, he could have claimed asylum as soon as he crossed into U.S. territory. What may feel like a technicality to you and me, could drastically alter this young man’s future. It’s highly likely his claim will not be granted because he did not seek asylum in any of the countries through which he had passed. My friend had followed the rules. He had taken a number, and now he’d likely be told to go back home.
In the midst of my sadness and frustration, I visited a small Baptist church on the Mexican side of the U.S./Mexico border and found some glimmer of hope. This small church had become a safe haven for many of the brave individuals and families who have traveled to the U.S. seeking asylum. On a typical Sunday, this congregation of only a 100 people or so, shelters up to 40 asylum seekers, whom they call “guests” rather than “immigrants.”
This church had taken spaces that they likely needed for their Sunday morning programming and turned them into dorm rooms. I walked through the church and saw the most beautiful wooden bunk beds I had ever seen! They may not have been much, but they were a sign of the local church in action.
This church had become God’s grace to people in need. While I found myself so saddened by the stories of asylum seekers and frustrated by the “take a number and then go back” procedures, I left feeling a sense of hope after seeing a clear picture of what God’s people, his church, could be.
Mark Lamb previously served as the Partnership Director at World Relief .
Reflections on Belonging
photo credit: Rebecca Bustamante
My heart is heavy for my country, the place I call home.
I’ve often wondered, where do I fit in?
Am I wanted here?
Do I even belong?
I’ve been plagued by these questions for most of my life. Though, it was only recently that I decided to engage them. As a Hispanic-American woman, the answers rarely seem straightforward, yet I feel a growing tension that I really need to get them right.
Just the other day, for example, I went to make a payment on my credit card. I received a pop-up message that I had never seen before.
“We need to verify your information,” it said. “Are you a U.S. citizen?”
A yes or no checkbox was located beside the question. I browsed the screen, looking for a way to opt-out, when I saw the notice: failure to answer this question could lead to my account being limited.
A flood of emotions consumed me — sadness, anger, frustration.
Was this question legal?
Why now after being a cardmember for so many years?
Are they asking every cardmember for this information, or just those with Hispanic sounding names?
Are they asking me because my last name is Lopez?
Experiences like this often send me spinning. But I’m learning to take comfort in the knowledge that my identity is in Christ.
You see, I was born in Chicago, on the Southwest side to be exact. My father is Mexican/Puerto Rican, and my mother is Puerto Rican. I’m proud of my heritage. The more I learn about my familial history the more grateful I become. My ancestors made so many sacrifices so I can live the life I have today.
My paternal grandmother’s entire family crossed the border together when she was just a toddler. As a kid, she had a knack for making things and finding items to sell. My dad once told me he was really inspired by the way his mother could figure out creative ways to make money for the family. He said I reminded him of her because I own a small, creative business. I had always wondered where my creative business skillset came from, and now I know.
My maternal grandparents moved to the United States in their adulthood, in pursuit of a better life just after my grandfather served in the war. I’m still not sure whether he served in WWII or the Korean War. He was too traumatized to ever talk about it. But I do know that Puerto Rico has a long history of serving in the U.S. military. WWII and the Korean War each saw around 60,000 Puerto Ricans fighting alongside the American military, my grandfather being one of them.
He had dreams of working in the chemistry field, and my grandmother dreamed of being a model. Both ended up working in factories, as did my mom. I am the first daughter in the family to graduate from college. I have the freedom to be my own boss, something my maternal grandparents never had the opportunity to do.
I sit in the tension of my privilege as a 3rd generation Latina whose first language is English. I struggle to speak Spanish fluently, which leaves me feeling isolated in some Latino circles. I’ve longed to connect with the parts of me that feel so foreign. Assimilation is real, and the pressure to fit into American culture often results in denying one’s cultural heritage.
Finding freedom in my cultural identity, in its totality, has been a journey. It’s been filled with therapy, processing with my close friends and partnering with Jesus to discover the truth of who I am. I heard once at a conference that your culture isn’t a curse, it’s a blessing. Who I am and where I belong isn’t dictated by what others say about me or who they say I am. I am a child of God, and my cultural identity matters to Him. My skin matters to Him, and my native tongue matters to Him. I belong here, and my voice matters.
I think, at our core, we all long to belong. Yet fear tends to divide us. It draws lines and forces us to pick sides. It’s “us versus them”, and those of us with a multicultural identity get caught in the crossfire. Am I Mexican? Am I Puerto Rican? Or am I American? The answer is I am all of it. I am proud of who I am and I am proud of where I came from. I’m proud of this country where I live and I am grateful to call it home.
I have high hopes for our nation and the place we can become. I see a nation that moves forward in love rather than fear, that celebrates diversity rather than denies it. I want our country to be a place of belonging, where people can thrive — people who look like me and people who don’t.
Jasmine Lopez is the founder of The Firehouse Dream, a creative arts healing center located in Maywood, IL. She is passionate about being rooted in our God-given identities and believes everyone’s story matters. She is a mental health advocate and shares her story in hopes of inspiring and encouraging others. Jasmine has been married to her high school sweetheart for 13 years and they have 3 girls: Dakota, Savannah and Emery. Together, they love dance parties, having fun and going to theme parks.
Stories from the Border: Jose
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, we’ll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
Jose* was granted asylum in the U.S. after fleeing from Central America. When he first arrived at the local World Relief office in Spokane he was homeless, jobless and struggling to process past trauma and the reasons for leaving his home behind.
In just one year, Jose has learned English, began processing his past through Mental Health assistance, found community and support and was accepted into a year-long job training program.
Because of the World Relief staff, volunteers and church partners, Jose feels empowered to pursue his dream of having a stable and secure life here in the U.S.
Together we’re restoring hope and rebuilding lives for the millions fleeing persecution and violence in search of refuge.
*Name has been changed to protect Jose’s identity.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Stories from the Border: Josef and Moses
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, we’ll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
Josef and Moses* are two young professionals who lived in a small African nation. They worked in government until a change in political leadership put a brutal new leader in power. Not long after the new regime took power, they learned that some of their colleagues and their family members had disappeared. Fearing for their lives and the lives of their own families, the two men fled, leaving behind their homes, belongings and, more importantly, their spouses and children.
Eventually, they ended up in Washington where a friend encouraged them to reach out to World Relief. They were connected to the pastor of an African church who provided them with support and hope. World Relief staff and volunteers helped the men navigate the complex legal process of asylum and transition their education and experience into marketable skills within the local economy.
Today, they are active in the community and looking toward a bright future.
Together we’re restoring hope and rebuilding lives for the millions fleeing persecution and violence in search of refuge.
*Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identity
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Stories from the Border: Annette
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, we’ll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
Annette* is a 57-year-old woman who came to America seeking asylum. When she arrived in the U.S. she was able to find a job but her employer took advantage of her. He paid her so little that she could barely meet her basic needs.
Eventually, she was connected to World Relief and that connection changed her life. She left her exploitative employer and is now earning a living wage. She has earned her driver’s license, enrolled in classes at a local community college and recently, she passed the exam to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Annette’s asylum case has still not been approved but she waits in hopeful expectation. Not long ago, she was gifted a car and her joy could not be contained. The car will give her more freedom to pursue her goal of nursing without having to spend time on the bus or money on rideshares. The sense of stability and safety created by the car and consistent employment has filled her with faith as she waits and prays for asylum approval.
Together we’re restoring hope and rebuilding lives for the millions fleeing persecution and violence in search of refuge.
*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Stories from the Border: Marty
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, we’ll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
Pastoring and planting churches can be difficult no matter where in the world you live. For Marty, a pastor and church planter in rural Kenya who also runs a non-profit focused on women’s rights, this proved to be true when his ministry became the target for violence and hostility.
Marty was nearly killed because of his work, yet, he persevered and was eventually invited to speak at a Christian conference in the U.S. After the conference, he realized returning to Kenya would be too dangerous and sought asylum in the United States.
For nearly a year, Marty relied on the help and generosity of others for basic needs such as food and housing, while he waited to be granted asylum. The World Relief team in Spokane learned of Marty’s situation and reached out. They helped meet his basic needs and connected him with a welcoming church community who provided much needed social and emotional support.
Marty, who was once alone, unable to return to his home, has found a new life in the U.S. and a safe place to live out God’s call on his life, thanks to his church community and World Relief volunteers.
Together we’re restoring hope and rebuilding lives for the millions fleeing persecution and violence in search of refuge.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.