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Trump’s refugee policies are damaging American cities
Over the past several decades, small cities throughout upstate New York and mid-America have counted on refugees to fill jobs left open as more Americans flock to the coasts and bigger cities. Now, with the refugee cap at a historic low, economic development in these cities is stalling.
Read MoreTragic drowning at Mexico-US border should shake us from our complacency
How ‘savings circles’ empower women in rural Africa
In a rural community in the small African country of Burundi, 16 women squeeze on to narrow wooden benches, arranged in a rugged circle under the shadow of banana trees. One woman’s toddler squirms in her lap. Another has tied her sleeping baby to her back with a wrap.
Each week, they come together in a World Relief Savings for Life group to learn about basic money management and to save money for emergencies, basic needs or small business investments. Read story
Read MoreMidyear 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?
Read MorePedal to Resettle Rider Highlight: Meet Paul Sassenrath
Paul is a World Relief Sacramento volunteer, advisory council member and a Pedal to Resettle 2019 rider. We asked him to share his volunteer journey and why he has signed up to ride 180+ miles this September to fundraise for refugee families in the greater Sacramento area. About three years ago, I attended a Christian…
Read MoreReflections from the US-Mexico Border
Last week World Relief Sacramento’s Office Director, Kerry Ham, visited asylum seekers at the United States-Mexico border. He and pastors from Vida Church Sacramento and Bayside Church Folsom saw firsthand the work of World Relief and heard stories from those who have fled in hope of safety and refuge in the US. Ham reflects on some of the stories…
Read MoreWinter Cup 2018
Saturday, December 8th, we hosted our first refugee youth soccer tournament—The Winter Cup 2018—at the San Juan Soccer Club Futsal facility in Rancho Cordova. Registration opened at 8:30 a.m., but by 8:00 a.m. a large queue had already formed. Players were eager to know which team they were on and to meet their coaches. Before the tournament…
Read MoreJourneys to Belonging
This month we hosted our first storytelling night, “Journeys to Belonging,” at Beatnik Studios in downtown Sacramento. Over 200 attendees came to hear stories from refugee and immigrant women, as well as World Relief staff members highlighting different aspects of what it means to belong and feel connected to your new home. DeVon, Wade, World…
Read MoreThe Immigration Facts: The Face of Asylum at the Southern Border
Who are the people approaching our border from Mexico? What does it mean to seek asylum? For a nation of immigrants, the ways by which foreign-born individuals and families legally enter the U.S. remain mysterious for many Americans. Here’s a helpful guide to get it all straight.
Read MoreThe Lion Men of Afghanistan
SACRIFICE AND THE COSTS OF THE REFUGEE SLOWDOWN “As long as I am alive and breathing, you will be okay,” Ghulam exclaimed as he pulled Jawad out of the mangled U.S. army vehicle. They had trained for a scenario such as this many times before, but neither expected it would become their reality. Jawad, a…
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