Posts Tagged ‘U.S. Ministries’
Five Ways You Can Stand With Dreamers
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that – for the moment, at least – keeps Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) alive.
While the decision was consistent with what World Relief has advocated for many years, I confess that to me, it came as a very happy surprise. I had been dreading a negative decision, which would have meant that more than 600,000 young people would have been poised to lose their work authorization (and, thus, their jobs) and be at risk of deportation. For many of my friends, colleagues and fellow church members whose livelihoods and way of life depend upon DACA – and for many others who know and love those directly affected – the decision is an incredible relief.
The risk of such an encouraging decision, though, is that we run the risk of moving on too quickly.
The Supreme Court decision, while positive, is not a permanent solution. In fact, the Court affirmed the administration’s authority (this one or a future one) to terminate DACA so long as they follow the proper procedure (which, in this case, the Court found the administration did not follow proper procedure). The only durable solution for Dreamers, and the only way they could become U.S. citizens is for Congress to pass legislation such as the Dream Act or something similar.
The reality is that there is still much to do to continue standing with Dreamers. Listed below are five ways you can stand with Dreamers today.
- Get Informed. We’ve prepared a simple DACA and Dream Act 101 explainer that describes what DACA is, what the Dream Act would mean if passed and what the most recent Court decision means. We also encourage you to check out (and share) the website of our partners at Voices of Christian Dreamers, which includes a collection of first-person stories from Dreamers.
- Give. World Relief and other non-profit immigration legal service providers provide competent, authorized legal guidance and assistance in applying for or renewing DACA (as well as applying for various other immigration legal benefits) and charge only nominal fees. But we can only sustain these ministries with support from individuals like you. Give here to help sustain and grow our immigration legal services network.
- Pray. For many of us, the Supreme Court’s decision came as a surprise – so much so that I’m convinced there was some divine intervention. Millions of people were praying for this outcome, but few Court-observers predicted this result based on the oral arguments for the case. Now is the time to continue praying for Dreamers. This guide from the Evangelical Immigration Table and Voices of Christian Dreamers is a great resource to help you as you pray.
- Advocate. Until a law, such as the Dream Act, is passed into law, there is still a great risk that the administration could try to terminate DACA again. It’s important to let our congressional representatives know that this decision does not mean their job is over. It’s a temporary reprieve, and now, we need them to act by passing legislation. A simple way to urge them to do so is to add your name to this letter to Members of Congress signed by various Christian leaders.
- Direct. If you know any individuals who have DACA, or who think they might now qualify for DACA, it’s really important that they access competent, authorized legal practitioners who can help verify their eligibility. Unfortunately, there are always individuals who are not authorized or adequately trained to give legal advice who prey on those desperate for good news by offering too-good-to-be-true promises of legal status or work authorization in exchange for obscene amounts of money. To be sure you’re getting accurate, authorized advice, we recommend consulting with an attorney who is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association or with a non-profit organization that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice – including most World Relief offices and many partner churches to whom World Relief provides technical legal support.
Matthew Soerens serves as the U.S. Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief. He previously served as the Field Director for the Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition of evangelical organizations of which World Relief is a founding member. He is the co-author of Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis (Moody Publishers, 2016) and Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration
Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2009). Matthew is a graduate of Wheaton College (IL) and DePaul University. He lives in Aurora, Illinois with his wife Diana and their two children.
In Celebration of Resilience
In my work at World Relief, I am constantly reminded of the strength and resilience found in people who have faced great hardship to not only come to the United States, but also to rebuild their lives here.
Now, with a worldwide health crisis and a national reckoning of racial injustice, many refugees and immigrants must once again stand firm in the face of struggle and find power in their resilience.
Take for example, the story of twin sisters, Sona and Hana Barichi, who are not only standing strong for themselves and their families but are working hard every day to provide care for their entire communities as the country continues to struggle with COVID-19.
Sona can’t hug her young son when she gets home from work even though he cries for her and doesn’t understand why. First, she has to take a shower. She leaves her work clothes and shoes in the garage until they’ve aired out for at least 24 hours, and then she washes them separately from her family’s laundry to prevent contamination. She takes these precautions because she is a respiratory therapist at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, IL where she works with COVID-19 patients.
Her twin sister, Hana, works as a phlebotomist for Elmhurst Hospital, about 40 miles down the road, where she, too, cares for COVID-19 patients. Both sisters tell me they are doing their absolute best to help every single person that comes in through their hospital’s door, regardless of race, religion or country of origin. As religious refugees from Iran, they know all too well what it feels like to be forgotten and refused, to be in danger with lives on the line.
Life for Hana and Sona was not always easy or safe in Iran. As non-Muslims, their lives were often at risk because of religious extremists who often terrorized local communities.
“We are not Muslim, so it was hard,” Sona said. “We [had] to take a lot of caution [in Iran]. My uncle’s shop was recently robbed at gunpoint because he is not Muslim. And the government never helps over there. Every day, people are going hungry. People sell their kidneys just to eat. It’s a bad situation.”
The sisters fled their home to escape persecution and were resettled in the United States in August 2006. Soon after, they connected with World Relief Chicagoland who helped them secure their first jobs as factory workers for Home Depot. But despite their good work performance and praise from their supervisor, the sisters were eventually fired because neither of them could pass their English test.
“Our supervisor liked our work,” Sona said. “But we couldn’t pass our English test and he had to let us go.”
That’s when Kara, a World Relief volunteer and friend to the sisters, decided to help out. The women enrolled in an English class in the Chicago suburbs. Hana’s husband, who is American, helped her study in the evenings, while Kara studied with Sona.
“We were working days and nights to learn English,” Sona said. “I was sleeping [just] 2-3 hours a day just so I could have enough time to improve my English.”
“Kara was a big reason I learned English,” she added.
After years of hard work, Sona and Hana were able to improve their English enough to return to school in pursuit of their shared dream of working in the medical field.
“Our dad’s side of the family were all in the medical field,” Hana explained. “My dad was a surgical assistant. He inspired me to be in medicine.”
In 2014, Sona graduated from school and was immediately employed by Delnor. A year later, Hana graduated and was hired by Elmhurst.
“It was always a dream to work in a hospital, and to help,” Sona said. “I see the sickest people get better and go home to live their life. That’s what I love about my job.”
“I feel like I’m here to help every person,” Hana said. She said that people sometimes look at her differently because she’s from a different country and has an accent, but she doesn’t let it bother her anymore.
“I’m here to help everyone no matter what,” she said. “It makes me happy to come to work every day. It makes me happy to help.”
Recently, though, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risks and challenges of going to work for both women. The stressors have reminded them of the danger they faced back in Iran, and Hana said she hasn’t been able to see her mom or sister due to social distancing guidelines at her hospital.
“Work is now very stressful,” she said “I do not want to get close to people. Every day, I see someone die. That really affects you. Just the other day, I was taking a COVID-19 patient’s blood, and ten minutes after I finished, he went into cardiac arrest and died.”
“It’s definitely scary,” Sona added. “People are very sick. Many are on oxygen. They need a good two months or more to recover.”
Nevertheless, the sisters continue to show up and help those in need at their hospitals in the U.S. while also helping others back home in Iran.
“We send $100 back home to Iran every month,” Sona said. “We donate [the] money to women who are not working due to the virus and who have children. Women are not as respected as men, and they don’t get jobs even in good times.”
Hana has also become a champion for the rights of her countrymen here in the United States.
“There are lots of language barrier problems with this virus,” she explained. “I know the language barrier is the biggest problem for many [COVID-19 patients]. My hospital has translator lines, but there wasn’t a line for Farsi, the native language of Iran. So, I spoke to the hospital administration and a line for Farsi was added.”
The United States is not just a home to Hana and Sona, it’s a community in which they are deeply invested. So invested, in fact, that Hana plans to go back to school to become a registered nurse once the threat of COVID-19 has subsided so that she can expand her field of care to all patients that arrive at the hospital. Resilience is a trait that doesn’t rest.
*this story was originally published by World Relief Chicagoland.
Rob Carroll serves as Communications Manager for World Relief Chicagoland. Rob’s professional background includes time spent in publishing, design, marketing and communications. He has written and edited for numerous outlets, and he even spent a year as the Managing Editor for a respected peer-reviewed science journal published by Oxford University Press. He views his current work with World Relief as a true vocation — a place where his experience and skill can help the greater good.
It Takes a Village
It was 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon when we got the call. A woman in the Congolese community had contracted COVID-19 — the first of what would turn out to be many cases for the Congolese living in the Quad Cities area. My mind raced with questions as we worked to determine the best plan of action: Does her family have everything they need? Does she understand what the word quarantine means? How many people has she come in contact with? Can we help her while also keeping our teams safe and socially distant?
We were able to connect with her on the phone and talk through the things her doctor had told her. We tried to ease some of her fears regarding the sickness and hoped this would be an isolated incident. Unfortunately, the virus had already started to spread, and over the next several weeks, 60% of the Congolese community would contract COVID-19.
The last several months have been a whirlwind as we’ve sought to manage all the unexpected challenges that have shown up in the face of this global pandemic. While our staff and volunteers have navigated their own challenges working from home, caring for kids and taking in the ever-changing and often confusing news cycle, our clients are even more confused than we are.
This situation is anything but ordinary. To have been forcibly displaced from your home is traumatic enough. But then to arrive in America only to face a pandemic and growing racial tensions can be shocking and isolating. Many of our clients have fled their home countries because of things like violence and ethnic and religious persecution. The events unfolding in America right now are fear-inducing for many refugees.
Similarly, most of our clients come from very high communal societies. Not being able to gather for worship, break bread together or visit a neighbor to help with child-rearing is a foreign and bizarre concept. It’s culture shock on a whole new level, and it’s why our team is so committed to regularly checking in on our immigrant clients and innovating new virtual programs in the midst of this crisis.
At World Relief Quad Cities, we offer a number of different services including Citizenship Classes, Immigration Legal Services, English Language Programs, Youth Mentoring and a culturally appropriate food pantry (meaning that in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables found in most grocery stores, our food pantry also contains many of the staples our immigrant neighbors would have eaten in their home countries).
Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, all of these services were offered in-person. Closing our physical office in mid-March meant we had to make major adjustments to our service model so that our clients could still access the resources they needed and feel connected to their new community.
Our citizenship classes were put on hold, and our food pantry transformed into a drive-through service. The second Monday of every month, around 300 clients pull up outside our office and we hand them a bag of food through their car door. For clients without cars, we deliver the food directly to their homes.
Likewise, our English classes and youth mentoring programs have become a hybrid of online learning mixed with work packets that we put together and deliver to our client’s homes. The packets include fun activities that families can do together to learn English. We send out new packets every two weeks, and we have been incredibly grateful for the ways our volunteers have stepped up to serve in these new ways.
These last three months have been a challenge I never imagined I would have to endure — working remotely alongside my husband who is also working remotely, trying to homeschool three kids while also making sure everything at World Relief Quad Cities stays on some sort of a normal schedule has been a lot to handle. But right alongside these challenges I’ve seen hope, strength, resilience and community rise up, and as a result, we’ve been able to establish new partnerships that may not have happened without the forced need of COVID-19.
The Rock Island Health Department has come alongside us to develop COVID-19 messaging to help educate our immigrant communities. UnityPoint Health has partnered with us to assemble and distribute boxes of masks, gloves and cleaning supplies to our clients in need. We’ve collaborated with Community Health Care to organize a COVID-19 testing site, and we’ve been awarded funds from organizations that have never donated to World Relief before. Those funds will allow us to reach more immigrant and refugee families with important COVID-19 information.
There’s an old Nigerian proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I think the same holds true for a non-profit organization like World Relief. It truly takes a whole community to support and serve the most vulnerable — especially in times like these when sickness and the realities of racism threaten the new foundation our immigrant neighbors are trying to build. The generosity we’ve experienced throughout this pandemic has been nothing short of a miracle, and my hope is that refugees and other immigrants in our community experience it as a sign of love and welcome amidst the chaos.
Our church partners have been beyond generous, awarding us with grant money from their endowments and donating extra funds for the food pantry. We had a volunteer ask for bikes on social media and within two days we were able to deliver over 30 bikes to families in need of safe transportation. We also had a generous group of teachers from the Rock Island Head Start program gather money to purchase food for several of our families who recently lost loved ones in a tragic car accident.
As we move forward into a season of reopening and all of the unknowns that come with it, my hope is that morale remains high and our commitment to one another remains strong regardless of what comes our way. I pray that my team would know how valuable each of them are and how grateful I am for the unique contributions each of them brings. I pray our clients would know that we will be here with them through every step of this journey. And I pray that the church would rise up in its commitment to the most vulnerable, remembering that true greatness comes when we lower ourselves to lift others up.
Laura Fontaine is the Director of World Relief Quad Cities and has been working with World Relief since April 2018. Laura grew up in various countries throughout Eruope as an Army Brat, which ignited her passion for working with and serving people from different cultures. She went on to study abroad in London, conduct research on development and security in South Africa and teach diplomacy and economics at the college level in China. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and History, and an M.A. in International Security and Arms Control with an emphasis in Strategy.
Treasures in the Dark
COVID-19 is proving to be a deep, dark season. It was March 16th when we closed our office and began working remotely. The virus hadn’t yet hit the Fox Valley area so although our team was preparing, we weren’t really sure for what. We began praying, as individuals and as a team, for the refugee and immigrant communities we serve.
At World Relief Fox Valley, we serve 10 different immigrant communities and several hundred individuals per year. They come to us from Congo, Burma, Iraq and South Sudan, just to name a few. While we don’t know every person’s specific story, we do know that all have persevered through unimaginable circumstances.
Many who have fled violence and poverty to come to the U.S. feel a sense of hope and opportunity when they arrive in the Fox Valley. No longer will their lives be measured by their ability to survive. Instead, opportunity has been restored, positioning many of them to thrive. Education, home ownership, business ownership — these new possibilities excite them, and they are eager to succeed and give back to the communities that have welcomed them.
While the immigrants we serve face many challenges in achieving these dreams, it didn’t take long for us to realize COVID-19 would only add to the complexity of their lives and delay their journeys forward. Though our newcomer friends have overcome insurmountable obstacles, this uncharted territory posed a unique set of challenges for them to navigate.
I remember thinking in those first days of the crisis, “It’s hard enough for Americans like me to wade through the ever-changing COVID-19 information. I can’t imagine trying to understand it in a new language and in a new home with new laws that I was still working to understand.”
With that in mind, in an effort to mitigate confusion and connect with those we serve, our team began reaching out to our clients shortly after we closed our office. We started with adults over 50, those who weren’t yet fluent in English and others we knew to be most at risk in these circumstances. We made phone calls and sent texts, asking people if anyone had gotten sick or if they needed anything. We also wanted to let them know how much we cared about them.
Initially, their responses were nonchalant and unaffected: “This text is to let you know that everybody in the (Burmese) community is doing well and staying safe,” one response read.
And so, we continued praying for their health and safety. Our prayers were answered with a resounding ‘yes’ for a while. But then we started hearing about refugees testing positive for COVID-19, families being quarantined and people being laid off. One of the first calls we received was from a group of people who all carpooled to the same worksite. They were all exposed to the virus and told to self- quarantine. We were able to ease some of their anxieties and offer a bit of hope by helping out with rent and groceries while they were quarantined.
That was just the beginning of the phone calls and requests for help we received. Our team moved quickly to support our clients in any way we could. We increased our outreach to ensure they were receiving accurate health information. We also began offering virtual services to help families navigate unemployment claims and understand stimulus check qualifications.
The work has been constant, a load that has weighed heavily on our team as we navigate our own uncertainties. Yet, in the midst of it all, I have been constantly reminded of God’s promise in Isaiah 45:3.
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”
God has indeed gifted our team with treasures in this dark time. Our community of donors has given so generously, allowing us to provide financial assistance for those most affected by COVID-19. I’ve received so many messages from donors saying things like, “We wanted to share our stimulus money with organizations we support. Thanks so much for all you do.”
Messages like these give our team the fuel we need to continue this vital work.
Likewise, our volunteer community has been a treasure. They have donated masks, purchased and delivered groceries, coordinated video chats with clients to help them stay connected and visited nearly every market in Fox Valley in search of ugali, a favored staple of our Congolese population.
Then there is the community of local churches that have donated offerings, gift cards and prayers. The generosity has been astounding. “I have a question,” one church partner wrote to me. “How are some of the people you’re working with handling all this stay in place’ stuff? Do you have a need for gas and grocery cards? I think I can get you some if you can give me a rough idea of what the need is right now.”
And the most treasured of treasures? A community of refugees and immigrants who remind us of what resilience and perseverance look like. They remain faithful and, by their example, demonstrate to our staff, donors, volunteers and church partners that even in the midst of darkness and despair, there are treasures to be found.
“I was just telling God,” one person from the Hispanic community we work with told me, “I do not know what I am going to do, you need to help me.’ And just when I finished praying, I received your call!”Our refugee and immigrant communities have endured hardships before, and they have come out stronger on the other side. So we continue praying — for health and protection for everyone within our community, and that we would keep our eyes peeled for the treasures to be found even in the season of COVID-19.
Tami McLaughlin first joined World Relief in 2014 as an Employment Specialist in Atlanta. Later that same year, she moved to Wisconsin to assume the role of Director of World Relief Fox Valley. Tami is passionate about developing service, fundraising and outreach programs and events and is dedicated to supporting the world’s most vulnerable.
Love Disrupts: Rodney’s Story
“We are enamored with a gospel that comforts us, but we are rarely drawn to a gospel that disrupts us.”
– Eugene Cho, Thou Shall Not Be a Jerk
Rodney is a husband and a father. He goes to church and home-schools his kids. He loves God and loves others, but when it came to immigration, Rodney felt it might be best if the U.S. stopped allowing more people to come here.
“[I would] see the big headlines saying that an illegal alien broke into someone’s house,” he said, “or [I’d] hear something about MS13 without context. You get to the point where you start to put all people into the same category.”
Rodney was comfortable with his views on immigrants and refugees, that is, until God disrupted his life.
It was a perfectly ordinary Sunday when David Frazier, founder of World Relief Memphis’ Connect English Language Center, spoke at First Evangelical Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Rodney’s son, James, was in attendance, and he listened as David spoke about God’s heart for immigrants. After the service, James returned home and told his dad about David’s message and how it was causing him to question his own views on immigration. Rodney was intrigued so he invited David to come speak to his Sunday school class the following week.
“David really pulled back [the curtain] and showed me the facts about who refugees are and the processes in place in terms of vetting that they have to go through,” Rodney said.
After Sunday school, David suggested that Rodney enroll in an orientation program at World Relief Memphis to learn more.
During one of the first classes, Rodney’s instructor passed out index cards to everyone and asked them to make a list of things they would bring with them if they had to leave their homes. After they made their lists, the instructor told everyone to cross one thing off their lists. After a few more rounds, everyone was left with just two or three things they could bring with them.
“[I realized] this is what these refugees have had to do,” Rodney said. “They’ve had to give up things in order to [find] a better life or escape danger where they were. It just made me think, what would I have to give up?
“[The exercise] opened my eyes up to the fact that the people that are here are not trying to…stay in their own groups,” he continued. “They are trying to learn English, trying to assimilate and trying to get jobs. These aren’t people coming just to get something, they’re coming to learn. They’re coming to contribute.”
After finishing the classes, Rodney felt compelled to volunteer. He signed up to serve on Wednesday nights at the Connect Language Center’s Café English, helping ESL students practice their English by simply having conversations with them. At Café English, Rodney connected with refugees and other immigrants and began to feel a palpable sense of shared humanity with them.
A few weeks later, World Relief’s Mobilization Director, Karen Spencer, asked him if he’d be interested in filling the need for a Roadrunner — a volunteer driver who transports refugee and immigrant clients to and from ESL classes and other appointments they have. Without hesitation, Rodney said yes and began driving World Relief’s 15-passenger van three days a week. According to Rodney, this was simply the next step God had asked him to take, and spending time with clients in the car allowed him to foster deeper connections with them.
“One of the first groups of ladies I [drove to ESL class] came close to my 29th wedding anniversary,” Rodney recalled. “So I asked them to teach me how to say ‘I love you’ in Swahili, which is nakupenda. It was a way to [connect] things from my life [with] theirs.”
After that, Rodney said he and the group of women would say “nakupenda” to each other each time he dropped them off, a sign that a beautiful friendship was forming.
Rodney also got to know the Mto brothers on his drives. They talked to each other about their marriages and hobbies, and as they grew more comfortable with each other, one of the brothers approached Rodney and asked if he would help him learn how to drive.
Rodney admits that he was hesitant at first.
“There was the human instinct [in me] that said maybe this is going too far,” he said.
But he had been asking God to make him open to new opportunities. When he remembered that prayer he thought, “God, I asked you to make me open, so, okay.’”
He picked up some books from the Connect Language Center that would help the Mto brothers study for their permit test and began studying with them. Eventually, Rodney invited the brothers over for dinner after their study sessions and the men became close friends with both Rodney and his son. One night, Rodney even took the brothers out for pizza and to drive go-karts so they could safely practice driving!
Recently, Rodney said that Patrick, one of the brothers, texted him saying, “Big! I’m ready to drive!”
“My nickname is Big Rod,” Rodney laughed, “but he can’t remember the ‘Rod’ so he just calls me Big.”
At World Relief, we often talk about the opportunity for mutual transformation. Because of his willingness to take a leap of faith, Rodney experienced a significant mindset shift and has been blessed tremendously by being a source of friendly welcome for so many refugees and immigrants in Memphis.
“The thing that has gotten me more than anything else,” Rodney said, “is that there are missionaries that are called by God and go to a certain country. I’m being a missionary here. I’ve met people from Columbia, Venezuela, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’ve learned these people’s names. I’ve gotten to talk to them, find out about their families, what they like to cook, etc. It’s something that I’ve really enjoyed and it’s ever-expanding.
“It is not so much that you have the ‘skills’ when you come to this job,” he continued. “It’s that you open yourself up to God and say, ‘Take everything that I am, and use me for your glory in this position.’ So, it’s all about being open to God… Be open, and let God use you to be who he created you to be.”
Rodney’s story is a refreshing reminder of what God can do when we open ourselves up to his transformative, often disruptive love. May we all be a little more like Rodney and courageously let that love in.
Nathan Spencer is a former Communications Intern for World Relief Memphis. A recent graduate of the University of Memphis, Nathan continues to volunteer for World Relief as a copywriter.
All In This Together
Over the last few weeks, our world, our organization and the communities in which we serve have experienced rapid amounts of change. Like many of you, my colleagues and I have shifted to working from home for the foreseeable future, and our 16 offices across the U.S. have closed their physical locations. As our teams have moved quickly to create innovative ways to serve our immigrant and refugee neighbors during this time, I have been struck by the idea that we really are all in this together, and have felt compelled to consider what “being in this together” truly means.
Initially, you and I might picture family and friends as we think about weathering this storm together. We might expand our view to include our churches and schools, coworkers and classmates, the healthcare workers and grocery store clerks we see responding on the frontlines. And while all of these are, indeed, included in together, I can’t help but wonder if our view should expand even wider.
When I look to scripture, I see that every tribe, tongue and nation is present at the throne of God, and that’s the very picture I want to inform my definition of together. For over 75 years, World Relief has been coming alongside refugees and other vulnerable immigrants who have been displaced by extreme poverty, violence, oppression and disasters. Many of these people live right here within our own communities and are experiencing the same sorts of hardships we are throughout this pandemic. Sadly, for many of them, unique vulnerabilities including language barriers, fear of ICE and family separation make this time even harder.
Even as we seek to support vulnerable immigrants during this crisis, many of the people in the communities where we serve are using what they have to give back as well. Sei Paw and the Karenni Burmese refugees in Winston Salem, NC is one such community that is pitching in to serve others. Recently, they came together and made over 3,000 masks to give to healthcare workers and other first responders through an initiative called Project Mask.
Rob Cassell, the Executive Director of World Relief Triad, got to talk with Sei Paw about Project Mask and why she got involved. My prayer is that as you read, you would take Sei Paw’s words to heart and begin to see her and other refugees like her as valued members of our community.
When were you first resettled in the United States?
I first came to the United States in October 2009. I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for three years before moving to Winston-Salem.
Where are you originally from, and what caused you to have to flee from your home country?
I am originally from Burma. I had to flee when I was 16 years old because the Karenni people were accused of being involved with insurgents in Burma. The military came and tried to grab me and take me with them. It was very scary. My family fled because it was no longer safe. My grandmother was killed by the government who accused her of being a spy. Thankfully, my mom and I escaped the country and went to live in a refugee camp. My brother, who had been disabled by a mine, also escaped and was eventually resettled in Australia.
After leaving your home, did you have to wait anywhere before being resettled in the U.S? How long did you have to wait?
Yes. I had to live in a refugee camp in Thailand for eight-and-a-half years. There was no freedom in the camp. We were not allowed to go anywhere else.
What role did World Relief play in her resettlement?
I, personally, was resettled by Catholic Charities, but many of the other 500 Karenni refugees in Winston-Salem were resettled by World Relief. Many in our community have also worked with World Relief translators and English teachers.
How has the COVID-19 crisis affected you, your family and your community?
It has created a bad situation for some of us. I started experiencing racism because I am Asian. Some people blamed me and my friends and family for the virus. Once, at a grocery store, a woman in line behind me shouted at me (the only Asian in the store) to get out of the way. I have never experienced this kind of aggression from others before.
Another time, I was in line at the grocery store, and the cashier was chatting nicely with the person in front of me. When it was my turn, the cashier turned away from me and completely ignored me. He then closed his register without even acknowledging me. I had to go use the self-checkout and kept wondering what I did wrong? I was only trying to buy food.
As I left, I noticed they opened the lane up again. I teared up in the car and prayed, “Lord, help me. Help my people. I don’t want it to be like this.”
Before COVID-19, cashiers at the grocery store were very friendly to me and my husband, but lately, I’ve felt very scared to go places.
What is Project Mask?
It’s a community project where people are sewing masks for people on front lines — healthcare workers, firemen, EMS and those working in nursing homes and hospitals.
What inspired you to get involved?
I got involved through my friends at RISE Winston-Salem, which is a program through the local YMCA that helps women learn English and how to sew.
I wanted to show that the Karenni and other refugees have skills to contribute, and we want to give back to our community and to the country. My first year in America I heard Obama quote Kennedy saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” That quote has guided me and led me to encourage more of my friends to get involved.
When did you first learn to sew and who taught you?
I first learned as a teenager in Burma. I attended some classes at a local Catholic Church when I was 15 to 16 years old. When I fled Burma and went to live in the camp, there were some sewing classes there as well that I took.
Is sewing a regular part of your life?
Not really. I haven’t sewed in over 20 years but started again just to make masks.
Who else participated in Project Mask with you?
There were 15 others from my Karenni community who made masks along with me.
How did it feel to participate in this project?
It felt great. It was amazing. I didn’t know it would be like this. I just wanted to help and show that my community could help the wider community.
How many masks have you been able to make?
We have made over 3,000 masks and are still sewing! Our original goal was 1,500, and we’re already passed that.
How has this project impacted your community?
It has given a name to the Karenni and prompted people to learn more about us and where we have come from. There has been a lot of support from others saying how proud they are of our community. We feel very proud of who we are and what we have been able to accomplish.
What would you say to others who want to support those in need during this crisis?
It’s easy to get involved. There is always something you can do. Try to help as much as you can. Even though you may think you can only do small things, when you come together with others, you can make a big impact.
What are your hopes for the end of this crisis? Is there anything you hope changes within your community, within the country, or throughout the world?
I hope that the Karenni people would be known in Winston-Salem and viewed as part of the community. Refugees have skills and we want to give back. I also hope people will visit the Project Mask website to learn more about the work we’re doing.
We are so grateful for Sei Paw and the Karenni community for their contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are just one of several refugee communities across the globe using their skills to give back. In Seattle, refugees have partnered with Aldi Collective to make masks for their community. In North Texas, our refugee Women’s Sewing Initiative made 150 masks and donated them to the Texas Oncology Clinic. And the list goes on, reminding us that together means all of us — refugee, immigrant, American-born alike.
Jennifer Foy joined World Relief in 2007 as a volunteer in serving many refugee families before joining the staff in 2014. She served in the High Point North Carolina Triad office until April 2019 when she moved to World Relief’s headquarters in Baltimore to take on a national role. In her current role she oversees the program management and development across all U.S. network of offices. She brings 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience leading local nonprofits. Jennifer grew up in Oregon and received a B.A. Sociology from Western Oregon University and later a M.P.A. from Norwich University in Vermont. She lives in Maryland with her husband Will.
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.
Here to Stay
A little over a week ago, we received some very sad news. Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to the federal government announcing that he would halt all future refugee resettlement to the state of Texas – an authority given to states in a recent executive order.
That decision has been a huge disappointment to the hundreds of people seeking refuge in our country.
Texas has historically been a leader in welcoming refugees to the United States, resettling over 60,000 in the last decade, more than any other single state. As a Texan, I know that these resilient women, men and children have become an integral part of the Lone Star State, contributing significantly to our state’s economic growth and becoming beloved parts of our churches, schools and communities.
In his letter, Governor Abbott implied that refugees are a burden. Our forty years of experience working with refugees in Texas has proven that, far from that, they are a blessing to the communities that welcome them.
Many of these refugees-turned-Texans have loved ones abroad who are waiting for approval to resettle in the U.S. World Relief has been reuniting families like these who have been torn apart by violence and oppression for decades. The moment a father sees his children for the first time in several years is a moment that leaves you speechless. It is a moment that illustrates so much of our call as Christians to welcome the stranger. That moment should not be banned in Texas.
Similarly, thousands of the refugees welcomed in Texas over the past decade have been persecuted Christians — families who have fled their homes simply because of the very faith we share with them. At World Relief, we’ve had the privilege of joining with local churches to welcome these brothers and sisters in Christ, trusting Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, that in doing so, we are actually welcoming Him.
Over the past week, we have received calls from volunteers, donors, concerned Texans and churches who love and welcome refugees as part of their core ministry. They’ve asked us what this means for the refugees and immigrants they love and for our office.
We have one answer: Refugees and other vulnerable immigrants are here to stay, and so are we. God has called us to welcome and serve the most vulnerable, and so we continue.
Like you, we are deeply saddened when our leaders choose to turn away from the most vulnerable among us. Nevertheless, we are determined to continue helping you answer God’s call. Immigrants will continue to come to Texas. Thousands of refugees are already part of our communities, and they still need us.
At World Relief, your donations will provide refugees and other vulnerable immigrants with the vital services they need to start their new life. Your voice will help us continue to build welcoming communities in Texas. Your volunteer hours and our church partners will continue to bring people together to create lasting change in the lives of refugees and immigrants.
We celebrated last week when the Federal Court System issued an injunction against the Executive Order that allowed Governor Abbott to restrict the Church’s ability to welcome refugees. That ruling, however, isn’t permanent. While we know the future can seem uncertain, we will not ignore our calling. Together, we will stand with the vulnerable in Texas no matter what.
Troy Greisen is the director of World Relief Fort Worth.
Love Grows Greater
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places. But there is still much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps the greater.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The world is indeed full of peril, and there are many dark places within it. We find this to be true every time we turn on the news. Stories of displaced people, violence and natural disasters pepper our screens in a staggering display of devastation and loss.
Ebola has, once again, threatened the health of thousands throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last spring, Cyclone Idai wreaked havoc across Malawi, and in the fall, Hurricane Dorian killed thousands more in the Bahamas. Ongoing conflict in South Sudan has forced millions to seek protection in camps encircled by barbed wire, with little hope of returning home. Yemen has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis according to the U.N., with three-quarters of the population requiring basic assistance and protection. Renewed fighting in Syria has left 140,000 men, women and children displaced, and hundreds of thousands of the Rohingya people have fled violence in Myanmar to nearby Bangladesh, where they are still living in tent cities under leaking tarps and battling rampant disease.
The magnitude of this darkness, pain and loss can feel overwhelming. We weep at the suffering, injustice and pain felt by so many — the hatred, dehumanization and abuses of power that keep so many from achieving their God-given potential. We lament recent developments within our own country that have made it harder for those seeking refuge to find it.
Yet, we still have hope because there is still so much to hope for. One of the many miracles of this life is that what seem to be mutually exclusive states of being, actually mingle together to create an intricate web of human experience: joy and sorrow, light and darkness, hope and despair. Out of the greatest tragedies rise stories of love that defy all hatred. Despite all odds, hope still flourishes and love endures.
Together, we are bringing the love of Christ to suffering families around the world. We are witnessing love grow greater through the joy and hope provided by the thousands of World Relief partners, local church leaders and volunteers giving of themselves every single day.
Love is growing greater in South Sudan as tens of thousands of displaced children receive medical care, education and relief from malnutrition.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, volunteer trainings on health and hygiene are helping prevent the spread of disease in areas affected by Ebola.
In Turkana, Kenya, where one of the most hostile climates in the world exposes people to repeated droughts and famine, lessons in raising drought-resistant livestock and crops are enabling families to break the cycle of poverty and dependence in their community.
In Yemen, where millions of people are at risk of illness and disease due to ongoing conflict, thousands of vulnerable families are receiving lifesaving emergency provisions of clean drinking water and learning about cholera prevention and treatment, sanitation and hygiene promotion.
In Malawi, 650 families received livestock and farming materials and are now rebuilding their farms after Cyclone Idai’s devastation.
And in the United States, God’s people are fighting back against the rising tide of fear and division in our nation, building welcoming communities of love and refuge where vulnerable immigrants can begin rebuilding their lives and homes.
Love grows greater when we respond to God’s leading. It grows greater when we share stories of faith, endurance and sacrifice and stories of God doing impossible things. For every story of darkness we hear, a story of faith, hope and love springs up beside it. This is God’s tender mercy at work — His light dispelling the darkness. In the midst of disasters, injustice and conflict, “these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”