Posts Tagged ‘U.S.’
Friendly Soil
ââŠThese 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. â – Harry Truman, 1947
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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 weâve 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 itâs hard not to conclude that America is facing an identity crisisâone 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. Itâs exhausting. And itâs painful. But we cannot, and must not lose heart.
The Less Told Story
Thatâs why this holiday season, we want to tell you a different story. Itâs 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 womenâs 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 gardenâs 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 Reliefâs Summer Camp. Whatâs 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 âhomeâ 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 weâre doing together across the U.S., and itâs 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 itâs 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, weâve 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 â 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, weâre saddened that the U.S. is doing less than ever to offer safety and freedom to refugees.Â
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 âcountries of particular concernâ 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 â including the Rohingya â from Burma.
Of the 18,000 refugees who might be allowed to be resettled in Fiscal Year 2020, the presidentâs determination allocates 5,000 for all religious minorities, ensuring that this year â as was the case last year and the year before â 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.
5 Ways You Can Help
Last week, we learned that vulnerable children and families are being detained in inadequate facilities and threatened with deportation. If youâre like us, you believe that families belong together, and that this is a grave injustice that we must fight back against. As Christians, and as Americans.
As you contemplate how you can respond to this crisis, here are five things you can do right now to help vulnerable immigrants, both at our Southern border and here in the United States.
World Refugee Day 2019
On World Refugee Day we want to shine a light on the individuals, from multiple countries who have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety and future.
A Call to Stand for Religious Freedom
Today, June 20th, marks World Refugee Day. According to just released data by UNHCR, there are more than 70 million displaced persons around the world. Half of them are children, and in 2018, 13.6 million people were newly displaced. When the world is seeing historic levels of displacement, we have the opportunity to help. Strengthening refugee resettlement will help not only promote international religious freedom but also be a life-saving tool of protection for a small number of vulnerable refugees. With 40 signatories from a wide range of faith traditions, we ask U.S. government leaders to remember a deeply rooted belief that each person should be able to freely practice their faith.
Refugees and Displaced People Around the World
Behind every journey is sacrifice, love and hope â behind every person is a unique story to be celebrated and honored.
As refugee and immigrant families resettle into their new homes, lives are not only being rebuilt but hundreds of people are thriving through the love and support of community.
Watch and learn about these journeys to a new land.
Refugees and Displaced People Around the World
For over 75 years, weâve been coming alongside families displaced by violence, poverty and injustice â both in the U.S. and across the world.
Today, more than 70 million people have been displaced from their home due to war, persecution or violence. Thatâs one man, woman or child every 2 seconds. This global crisis is the worst its been since World War II, and continues to worsen.
But with your help, we have been able to serve thousands around the world.
Midyear Refugee Resettlement Numbers
Halfway through Fiscal Year 2019, is the U.S. on track to meet the refugee resettlement cap the president set six months ago?
Based on refugee arrivals thus far, no. This infographic explains how recent changes to U.S. refugee policy are impacting refugees seeking safety and freedom in the U.S., including persecuted Christians and other religious minorities fleeing hardship around the world.
Forging Resilience through Trauma
As an early employment specialist with World Relief, I get an in-depth look at the resilience found in refugees who arrive in America. I am privileged to see the human spirit overcome and persist in the face of overwhelming odds. While my work is intended to equip our partners as they establish financial stability, it also targets the insidious activity of injustice that has been sown in the lives of so many people.
Khalid* is one of these brave people, willing to give us a glimpse inside his story.
Khalidâs Story
As we begin, Khalid sets his drink down on the table in front of him and looks me in the eyes, âI donât ask for anything, I just need protection. We need safety; that is all. This is my story.â
Khalid was born, and lived for many years, in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. When he speaks about his home, his face lights up. Throughout our conversation, he continually reminds me, âthe day there is peace, I will go back.â His love for his home pulses through him, despite how deeply the conflict of Sudan has wounded him.
When he was in his early twenties, the violence in Sudan became too much for Khalid to bear. He fled, finding safety in Egypt for a few years, but even there it did not last long. As the influx of outsiders stirred up resentment from the Egyptian government, Khalid found himself fleeing again; this time with his two boys, wife and two month old daughter. Quickly, he gathered his family and the few items that they could carry and journeyed toward the border.
Arriving at the border, things quickly descended into chaos. They had been spotted by local security forces. Shifting in his chair, Khalid recounts how people with him were struck by gunfire and killed that night. One man got hit through the throat, another through the knees. Khalid said he stopped to carry one of the wounded but could not get far.
Eventually Khalid made it across the border with his two month old daughter safely in his arms, but his wife and boys were overtaken and arrested by security. Khalid stayed and worked to pay for his familyâs release while also working on his application as a refugee for resettlement in the U.S. In 2017, he received approval to come the U.S. with his youngest daughter. Meanwhile, his wife and two sons were released and sent back to Sudan.
Throughout the next few years, Khalidâs family lived on the run. Unable to return to their home in  Sudan and still fleeing violence in Sudan, they started toward a large refugee camp in Kenya. Thankfully, they have now found safety and are waiting to be reunited with Khalid. Khalidâs deepest desire is to find a way for them to join him in America. It has been over ten years since he has seen them.
Forging Resilience
Khalid is a survivor. He has pushed back against the odds and grasped hold of opportunities. After faithfully attending our job readiness class, he was hired for a third shift job at a plastics molding company. Through culture shock and fatigue, he persevered. Under the weight of trauma, he forged greater resilience.
When a person is forced to flee their home to find safety, there is a series of shifts, internally and externally, in their identity. Not only is their lengthy journey to safety marked with physical and psychological trauma, it is punctuated by a sense of hopelessness that can lead them to doubt their own efficacy. Those experiencing forced migration have been through tremendous challenges.
Thatâs why, at World Relief, we seek to lighten the load of these vulnerable refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers as they get back on their feet. In each of our programs we seek to help individuals uproot self-doubt, restore an awareness to their own strength and help address the many needs of those who have undergone this trauma. We are not the hero in this story of resilience, but what we do provide is an opportunity for them to harness their own strength to succeed. And we have an incredible front row seat to witness their journey.
Rebuilding Lives
Upon arrival in America, our âclientsâ enroll in English Language classes (ESL) and employment services. This training takes place in community-based classes, which promote English acquisition, teach about U.S. workplace culture, and foster a community of survivors. These classes offer a support system for those overcoming trauma by intentionally establishing routine and community. In this environment, friendships form between people from some of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. These friendships are crucial because it makes adjustment to a new home more manageable. It provides solidarity as resilient people band together, learning a foreign language and understanding the many nuances of a new culture.
With friendship and community many find they have the support and confidence they need to continue pursuing independence and secure employment. We firmly believe  employment has the power to restore dignity and fulfillment in the heart of individuals as well as provide a sense of purpose in everyday life.
Not only do we aim to create a strong foundation for those we work with, but we also seek to provide wrap around assistance such as: arranging appropriate housing for refugee arrivals, enrolling children in school (often for the first time,) providing trauma counseling, and coordinating access to medical care.
Our goal is to help overcome the effects of violence, poverty and injustice lingering in the lives of individuals we serve through love in action. We refuse to believe injustice will always have a powerful grip on individualsâ lives and we are compelled to fight tirelessly to ensure that all people can experience the  fullness of life God intended for them.
*Khalidâs name has been changed to ensure his privacy.
Dan Peterson currently works as an Early Employment Specialist for World Relief Dupage/Aurora. He has been in this role since January 2016. Before working for World Relief, Dan graduated from Worldview Centre for Intercultural Studies in Tasmania, Australia, where he received a B.A. of Cross-Cultural Studies.
Our Journey to âYESâ: Jill & Jason Hwang
Tell me a little about how you first got involved with World Relief?
JASON: I made my first donation to World Relief in 2005, as a graduate student. At the time, a big focus of my church was financial discipleship and Iâd sat through many sermons and scriptural teachings on generosity. In seeking out opportunities to hear people talk about stewardship, I learned about World Relief. It seemed like a great opportunity to begin giving in a small way.
JILL: Before Jason and I met, Iâd been in the midst of a season where I was thinking a lot about loving the âleast of theseâ and feeling a calling in this area. I was an immigration attorney at the time but I wanted to grow in serving the most vulnerable in different ways. After Jason and I got married in 2008, we started making joint financial decisions, and it was amazing to see how God had really been preparing both of our hearts to come together in partnership around this calling to give. World Relief was an area where both of our passions and callings, Jasonâs to financial stewardship and mine to service, merged together. That was 10 years ago and weâve been giving ever since.
Tell me about your own decision making process when it came to charitable giving? Why do you give?
JASON: Over the last decade, Iâve really grown in my conviction that our life is not our own and that we are stewards of the time that God gives usâas well as of our resources and opportunities. Thatâs something I want to be reminded of often. Itâs easy to feel that life is just about us and our three kids, but it really isnât. And I find that going beyond our own needs and giving with joy is a tangible way in which I experience Godâs grace.
JILL: For me, itâs a way for my heart to grow. I want to invest my heart in the things that God cares about and financial giving is one way of doing that.
How did you decide what and where to give? What was important for you?
JILL: Iâm an immigration attorney. And a lot of what World Relief does, and where they work, well thatâs where my clients are often coming from. So being able to engage in that area, know the backgrounds and stories of my clients, it helps me to view them more fully. Itâs easy to lose sight of what our everyday work is all about, but having the bigger picture, a fuller picture, is a good reminder of the realities of what is happening in the world and the things that are on Godâs heart.
What drew you to World Relief in particular?
JASON: After we got married, we started attending a few World Relief events. And there was one that really struck a chord with us, where we heard from Pastor Marcel from Congo. He talked about violence against women in Congo and how many of the women in his church were victims of physical and sexual violence. The consequences he spoke about, both physical and emotional, were just devastating. We also became deeply aware of the challenges of ministering in that environment and how difficult it must be. And we wanted to support that.
JILL: We knew we wanted to support work in areas where the need was great, and we also wanted to support churches and pastors. World Relief gave us the opportunity to do both of those things. We love that thereâs a focus on the local church; that thereâs intentionality on empowering local people, and local communities, to seek out transformation and lead it themselves. It feels good to know weâre investing in local institutions that, when the work of an NGO comes to an end, will still be there.
What motivates you to continue giving today?
JILL: Itâs really a response, and a step, of faith for us. I think often when we think about giving, itâs easy to think ahead to results, and what the financial giving can accomplish. But over the years I think the biggest realization for us has been that our giving really does feel like a step of faithfulness, regardless of what God will do with it. Maybe itâs something big, maybe itâs something small and maybe itâs something we may never see or know aboutâbut whenever and however the results come about, itâs ultimately in Godâs hands. The giving itself is a response of faith, an opportunity to trust God and grow our hearts.
JASON: We try to make our financial decisions based on the idea that being a follower of Jesus is a serious thing, so wanting to be an authentic Christian is a powerful part of my motivation. And I also find that giving to support the needs of others ultimately helps me overcome my own anxieties about the future.
How has your life been impacted or changed since you started giving to World Relief?
JILL: Iâd say the world feels a little bit closer. Specifically, what God is doing in the world feels a little bit closer to us. Itâs grown our hearts toward the suffering of vulnerable people. And toward those that find themselves as refugees in different parts of the world. We feel invested in these areas and communities that weâre learning about. And itâs also a way for us to invite our children into this journey and learning as they get older.
What would you say to other families that are thinking about giving to World Relief or another organization like World Relief? What advice or encouragement would you give?
JILL: Iâd say, if you feel a nudge, follow it. Take a step of faith. So much of this is about our response. If we learn to leave our fears and expectations with God and just take a small step of faith, giving however little or much he calls us to, thatâs a process of growing our hearts and growing in faithfulnessâthatâs worthwhile.
JASON: Iâd say, you should learn more. The needs of the world often sound so overwhelming and itâs easy to think, âWhat difference can I actually make?â in a totally different part of the world. But World Relief offers so many resources and opportunities to overcome that barrier. Those resources were really what moved me beyond the mental distance.
Iâd also add that itâs so helpful to connect with other people and take this journey together. You know, sometimes financial giving can feel private, but having a community and culture of giving with people around you who are willing to take the same risks, support one another and remind one another of the importance of it has been really helpful. Itâs so much easier to be give faithfully when you have friends who are doing the same thing, who have caught the same vision of discipleship and who want to do this together. So Iâd say if youâre thinking about giving, see if you can find a small group of friends through church or another context who might want to share in the journey.
Are you ready to find your âYESâ?
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.