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“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In her famous TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie challenges us to expand our understanding of the world by embracing diverse perspectives and rejecting one-dimensional narratives. Today, with more than 122 million people displaced globally, it’s easy to reduce this crisis to statistics but behind every number is a person, a name, a story.
These are not just refugee statistics. These are refugee stories.
Stories like those of Florence and Pascal. Their lives began on opposite sides of a continent — hers in Rwanda, his in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their journeys into displacement were as distinct as their homelands. Each endured unimaginable loss and the long road of rebuilding after forced migration. But their paths converged in a refugee camp, where kindness became friendship and friendship grew into love. Now resettled in the United States right before the suspensions of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, they share a life marked by hope and deep gratitude.
Florence: Fleeing as a Child, Dreaming of Safety
Florence was only eight years old when she fled Rwanda. Her parents had been kidnapped over a land dispute and survived. Fearing that it would happen again, Florence and her family fled Rwanda after her parents returned. From that moment, her life was changed forever. Alongside her six siblings, Florence grew up in a refugee camp in Malawi — home to over 1,000 people — where her parents had sought safety. It was there, surrounded by instability and uncertainty, that she learned to survive.
She spent much of her youth working to support her family by running a small shop inside the camp. In 2016, something unexpected happened: she met Pascal.
“He was always kind. He didn’t have much, but we helped each other,” Florence recalled.
She would offer him food when he couldn’t pay. He came often — sometimes to buy something, sometimes just to talk. Over time, the two became close. “He became my best friend,” Florence said. Eventually, they were married in a simple court ceremony and began building a life together inside the camp.
In 2018, Florence’s case was approved by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, for resettlement, and she made a bold request: Pascal must be included. “We could not be separated,” she told the agency. It worked — Pascal was accepted and their family would stay together.
Pascal: Loss, Loneliness and Finding a New Family
Pascal fled Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003. After a group discovered that his father had married a Rwandan woman, they retaliated — killing his father and his uncle. Pascal escaped to Burundi and lived there for 10 years, working in a garage and driving motorbike taxis.
When civil unrest broke out in 2015, boys his age began being recruited to fight. Fearing for his life, Pascal fled again, this time through Tanzania. For three months, he lived on the streets of that country. Eventually, a stranger helped him travel to Malawi and dropped him off at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp, where he would be given a tent and a small plot of land. He was alone.
Then he met Florence.
“She helped me when I had no one. She had a small shop and she always had kindness,” Pascal said. “I knew God had put her there.”
They fell in love. They got married. They ran the shop together. But life in the camp remained hard.
So when they were finally approved to come to the U.S. in 2023 — Florence, Pascal, their two young sons and Florence’s parents — it was a dream come true.
“I Didn’t Know Things Could Happen Like This”
In December 2024, their plane landed in Fort Worth, Texas. It was Florence’s first flight — something she had dreamed of her whole life. When they stepped off the plane in Texas, World Relief caseworkers were waiting at the airport to welcome them. The staff helped them settle into a hotel for two weeks and then moved them into an apartment.
“It was so different from life in the refugee camp,” Florence said. “The kids love the house. They go to school. They are happy.”
Florence relished the common things most would take for granted — like flooring. At the refugee camp, Florence was used to living in a small space. Their houses in the camp had tarps for roofs, dirt floors and no indoor plumbing. Her new home in Fort Worth was above and beyond what she ever expected.
Her parents had also been approved for resettlement and now live nearby in Fort Worth. “They are doing well,” Florence shared. “We see them sometimes. We’re grateful they are close.”
But like many resettled refugees, Florence and Pascal soon learned that starting over in America came with its own challenges — especially financial ones. On January 20, 2025, an executive order from the Trump administration immediately suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and issued stop work orders. This meant that all funding that helps recent refugee arrivals get on their feet in a new country during their first 90 days were no longer available. When World Relief staff explained that they couldn’t cover all utilities because of the funding gaps, the couple feared they might lose their home and have to start over again all too soon …
Then the church stepped in.
A New Family, A New Future
A local church community, Northwood Church, learned of Florence and Pascal’s needs and immediately mobilized help. They didn’t just offer financial assistance — they showed up in person, gathered friends and formed a community for Florence and Pascal through a Good Neighbor Team.
“They are helping us with everything,” Florence said. “They help pay the rent. Without them, we would be on the street.”
Pascal added, “That’s why I say, ‘God bless America.’ There are good people here. God is big and always good. He uses his people to help us.”
Today, Florence is hopeful about returning to work. Pascal has a job downtown cooking in a correctional facility. Their sons are thriving in school. And they are surrounded by a community that sees them — not just as refugees, but as neighbors, friends and fellow image-bearers of God.
“We were lonely, and didn’t have community,” Pascal said. “Now, we know our neighbors. I didn’t know things could happen like this.”
Refugee Stories Like Theirs Deserve Protection
Florence and Pascal’s story is just one of many but it shows what’s possible when the United States chooses welcome over fear and compassion over indifference.
Yet today, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program — the very one that helped reunite Florence with her parents and gave Pascal a second chance in life — is at risk. It is suspended pending a review from the Department of State which will determine whether refugees will be admitted again into the U.S. That means that refugees from all over the world are no longer able to seek refuge in the United States even if they have already been approved — like Florence’s sister.
Policy shifts and deportation threats are putting countless lives in danger. We must not forget what is at stake. Refugee stories are sacred. And right now, they need defenders.
Theirs is not a single story — it’s a testament to resilience, hope, and the unexpected beauty that can emerge even in the aftermath of crises.
Florence and Pascal’s journey is just one of countless refugee stories that show the life-changing impact of welcome. But with the U.S. refugee resettlement program at risk, families like theirs need our voice. You can help protect persecuted people of faith by urging Congress and the White House to stop deportation threats and restore refugee protections. Take two minutes to speak up through our Advocacy Assistant and stand with refugees who, like Florence and Pascal, deserve safety, dignity and the chance to rebuild
Jessica Galván is Sr. Content Writer at World Relief. She is passionate about storytelling and amplifying diverse voices to reveal the beauty of God’s creation. She is also the Editorial Director for Chasing Justice and prior to World Relief, she was a freelance writer and editor for a variety of clients in publishing, most recently Penguin Random House. When she isn’t wordsmithing for the pursuit of faith and justice, she is spending time with her husband and their 3 children in the Houston, TX area.