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Across the U.S., back-to-school season brings a flurry of anticipation — children picking out their first-day outfits and filling backpacks with sharpened pencils, fresh crayons and crisp new notebooks.
For the more than 100,000 estimated refugee and displaced children in the nation, a new school year isn’t just the start of a new grade. It’s a chance to reclaim stability, rebuild routine and rediscover hope.
For Sandy, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Wisconsin with her family from Egypt last December, a warm welcome to her fifth-grade class at Robbins Elementary School in Eau Claire was a first step to a fresh start.
World Relief Wisconsin staff and volunteers walk alongside families like Sandy’s as they navigate the school system in their new communities — no matter when they arrive during the school year. They help connect parents to schools, ensure children are enrolled and have regular transportation, and troubleshoot communication issues that arise.
Give monthly to ensure every child who has fled conflict or crisis is welcomed, supported and set up to thrive — starting in the classroom.
“When we came to the U.S., we were greeted with a lot of hospitality,” said Sandy’s mother, Fatima.
The family had fled Syria amid a devastating civil war marked by extensive use of chemical weapons to find safety in an apartment in Egypt for more than a decade.
The week before Sandy started school at Robbins, she and her family got a first look at the school as they toured her classroom, the cafeteria, the nurse’s office and, of course, the playground.
“They told me about the materials I would get and the food I would eat,” Sandy said. “They said they will take care of me and teach me English.”
Sandy’s teacher gifted her a special scrapbook that day to introduce herself and the class with fun facts about their hobbies, favorite foods and TV shows.
“I was excited and scared because I didn’t have friends,” Sandy said. “The notebook had the names of the students, so I could get to know them.”
Kamel, Sandy’s father, said the warm welcome from the school made everyone feel more comfortable about the first day and as the weeks passed Sandy felt more and more settled.
As parents, Kamel and Fatima are finding the educational experience for Sandy and her older sisters and brother much improved here over the schools they attended in Egypt, where the family had found refuge before heading to the U.S.
The couple has “great hopes” for their children’s education.
Now, just like her classmates, Sandy is packing her backpack and preparing for her next big step: middle school — a milestone that once felt unimaginable just months ago.
“I love the variety of studies and activities. I love drawing and learning new things through education in America,” she said.
A new backpack. A safe classroom. A warm welcome.
Your monthly gift helps refugee children like Sandy feel seen, safe and supported — right from day one.
Today, you can help children and their families who’ve been uprooted — families that are struggling to survive or to rebuild their lives. Families that have hopes and dreams for their children, dreams that have survived the brutality of displacement. Today, will you nurture those dreams?