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Never Expected to Be a Refugee: From Sunset to Sunrise

I never expected to be a refugee. I joined a university when I was 18 years old, enrolling in the English department at Basra (the Port of Iraq). At the end of my time there, I graduated second in my department. After graduation, I stayed two more years as a researcher’s assistant and then five more…

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All My Hope: A Refugee Story

Long Distance Love On the morning of February 17th, Rafia woke up and prepared a feast for the arrival of her husband, Abdinasir. But when an unprecedented snowstorm hit the Mid-south, Abdinasir’s flight was canceled and he got stuck in Chicago. Rafia, however, was undeterred. The next morning, she woke up and cooked another welcome-home…

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Imagine What it Should Be: An Advocacy Q & A

Jenny Yang photo

World Relief believes the government has a role in promoting peace and justice while also addressing systemic and structural issues that perpetuate extreme poverty and injustice. Learn more about what our advocacy work imagines what the world should be.

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Your Rebuilding Questions Answered

Matt Soerens and Jenny Yang photo

A Conversation with Jenny Yang and Matthew Soerens Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the next President and Vice President of the United States at noon today, January 20, 2021. The Biden-Harris administration has a proposed set of policy goals that they hope to accomplish in their time of office, one…

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An Open Letter

To the people we serve at World Relief, We want to express our unwavering support to you and express our deep grief over the events of last week when a group of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol. The scenes we all witnessed left us feeling sick and unsettled and were reflective of the divisions that…

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Change Rebuilds: Jerome’s Story

Change Rebuilds

As we round the corner of 2020 toward the end of the year, we’re bringing you more made-for-change stories from across the World Relief community. Today, World Relief Chicagoland’s Jerome Bizimana shares his story of rebuilding. He fled violence in his home country of the Congo and eventually resettled in Illinois. Jerome now works for…

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Both Can Be True

Several months ago, a counselor said something that has stuck with me. She told me, “Both can be true.” I have held onto these words in the past few months as a tangible way to remind myself of the tension and the reality in our day-to-day world. For the past couple years, my husband and…

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COVID and the Issues: U.S. Programs

World Relief currently operates local offices in 18 cities across the United States. Our teams are committed to helping new immigrants thrive by providing vital services and building communities of love and welcome. In addition to case management, our U.S. offices offer English language classes, job training and placement programs, legal services, youth mentoring, mental…

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Treasures in the Dark

Light-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…

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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.

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