Her Parents Fled Sudan. Now, She Wants to Study Refugee Trauma.
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When Anan walks during her commencement ceremony in Tennessee next year, she’ll be the first college graduate in her family.
The 21-year-old will carry more than her diploma — she’ll be carrying her family’s story of courage, survival and sacrifice.
Born to Sudanese parents in a refugee camp in Kenya, and later supported by World Relief as her family rebuilt their lives in the U.S., Anan is acutely aware of the significance of this milestone.
“I know my parents would have loved to do something like this. I know they would have loved to walk around a campus,” says Anan. “I did that for myself, but I also did that for them.”
Struggle and Survival
As a child, Anan’s father didn’t have the means to go to school in Sudan, she tells you. So he would get dressed in the morning and sit outside the class, listening — learning.
Then came conflict and war that scattered the family.
Anan’s parents fled to Kenya in the 1990s in search of safety. And it was in a refugee camp stretched beyond capacity that Anan and her siblings were born. For years they lived in uncertainty, waiting anxiously for their names to appear on a refugee resettlement list.
Their story mirrors the experience of over 117 million people worldwide who have been forced to flee because of war, violence and persecution — nearly half of whom are children.
Walking Alongside Refugees in the U.S.
When the family finally arrived in the United States, they stepped into snow in Nashville and into the welcome of World Relief staff, ready to walk with them as they rebuilt their lives. World Relief helped her parents navigate their first steps — from finding warm coats and grocery shopping to learning English, getting jobs and enrolling their children in school.
“We were excited about schools …We were really, really excited about school,” recalls Anan.
It wasn’t just a period of learning for the kids. It was a big learning curve for her parents as well. English classes helped them “fend for themselves when it was time, like when they needed to speak up about something or when they needed to ask questions,” says Anan.
But practical help was only part of what her family needed. They still carried deep wounds — separation from loved ones, memories of conflict and the daily strain of survival. Anan saw her parents carry that quiet weight. Their sacrifice shaped her future.
How You Can Help Refugees Experiencing Uncertainty
At World Relief, we are boldly engaging the historic displacement crisis in partnership with the church. Together with supporters like you, we’re walking alongside refugees and other displaced families both here in the U.S. and in hot spots of displacement across the world like Sudan, DR Congo, Haiti and Ukraine.
Today, refugees and other displaced families are crushed on every side. On Oct. 24, 2025, the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, was invaded and seized. Accounts of horrific violence have since emerged, with reports describing devastating scenes of entire neighborhoods destroyed, hospitals looted, and the mass killing of civilians.
In the U.S., SNAP benefits have been stripped away from refugees and other lawfully present immigrants due to a provision in the “Big Beautiful Bill.” And, a new policy memo delivered recently by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suggests that the legal status of refugees legally resettled in the U.S. over the last five years may suddenly be stripped, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.
Your gift is the financial lifeline for families in crisis. Will you provide that lifeline?
As the largest humanitarian actor in the Darfur region since 2003, World Relief has been alongside these communities for decades. Right now, we are providing lifesaving food assistance, health care, clean water and protection across the region. We are also rapidly mobilizing to support newly emerging needs, including psychosocial support to those traumatized by recent events as well as protection for victims of sexual violence and children separated from family.
In the U.S., local World Relief offices are mobilizing food drives, engaging churches to provide emergency food funds and more. Our teams also provide employment support, legal services and connection to caring communities that help families find safety and belonging. And while the office in Nashville was closed, our 16 offices across the country support thousands of refugees.
The need is staggering, and we urgently need your support.
Studying Trauma in the Refugee Experience
Your support helps families like Anan’s in the U.S. and across the globe find safety and hope. Now a senior majoring in social work and psychology, Anan plans to pursue graduate education to study refugee trauma. She hopes to walk alongside families who carry stories like her parents.
“They’re forced to suppress their emotions and hold it down for the family, so teaching and understanding, ‘How does that trauma follow them?’ and ‘What can we do to offer help in that aspect?” she says of her area of interest.
Her parents left behind their home, language and extended family because “it wasn’t safe for us,” Anan explains. Today, she stands on the threshold of becoming the first in her family to graduate college — a testament to their courage and the support they received along the way.
Every day, supporters like you and World Relief walk alongside families like Anan’s — families fleeing conflict, seeking safety and rebuilding their lives with dignity.
As the crisis grows, will your generosity meet the moment?
Together, we can ensure that more families find safety, community and opportunity.
Shreya Shukla Thornton is the Senior Content Manager at World Relief. With over 15 years of experience in communication and a Ph.D. in the field, she enjoys forging a connection through storytelling.