Posts Tagged ‘Refugees’
Fact vs. Fiction — 10 Things You Need to Know about the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions
Reports from multiple news sources have confirmed that the Trump administration is poised to set 2018 refugee admissions levels at 45,000—the lowest in the nation’s history. Here’s what the administration has said in its report to Congress to justify these historically low numbers, at a historically high time of need, and the facts you should…
Read MoreWhen a Refugee Child’s Education Stops
While living in the south Asian country of Bhutan, Pabi’s family was forced to flee their home due to political and ethnic persecution. At a young age, Pabi became a refugee. And like many refugee children, Pabi’s education risked coming to a halt. When her family fled to nearby Nepal, Pabi received some education, but…
Read MoreWhen Refugees Go Back to School (Q&A)
Children across the U.S. are returning to school. Recently resettled refugees will be among those children. Tabitha McDuffee, Communications Coordinator for World Relief Dupage/Aurora (WRDA) sat down with both Malita Gardner, Children & Youth Program Manager at WRDA, and Deborah, a former refugee from Southeast Asia and staff member at WRDA, to discuss what the…
Read More“I will not forget you, God has placed you in my heart.”
Some time ago I spent a week in a Middle Eastern country visiting with Syrian refugees. Day after day on that trip, I sat on concrete floors in crumbling urban apartments with Syrian women and their children. Each time I looked into the women’s faces, their empty eyes told the silent stories of losses and…
Read MoreVIDEO: The Hope House
We are called to care for our neighbor, both American and foreign-born. “To care for both/and. Not either/or. But both/and.” That’s the message Pastor Bill Bigger preached to his church, Hope Valley Baptist in Durham, NC, as the congregation underwent a 5-month discussion and discernment period on whether to build a temporary shelter for incoming…
Read MoreA City on a Hill
In his farewell address to the nation in 1989, President Ronald Reagan, borrowing a line from Jesus, described the United States as a “shining city on a hill” for those seeking freedom, a place “teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace” whose “doors were open to anyone with the will and…
Read MoreVIDEO: Dyan Comes Home
Approximately 70% of all refugees resettled by World Relief are for family reunification. So when we saw the video below, we were deeply moved. Produced last year, “Dyan Comes Home” captures the story of one Sudanese family resettled by Catholic Charities, fueled by the commitment and care of volunteers from The Village Church in Forth…
Read MoreWorld Refugee Day: Love in Action
How Loving Our Neighbors Makes Space For Success For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Galatians 5:14 Original reporting and photo below courtesy of Noell Dickmann/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin We can’t wait for June 20th. It’s World Refugee Day and World Relief is ready to join…
Read MoreThe Current State of Refugee Resettlement in the U.S.
Susan Sperry, Executive Director of World Relief Dupage Aurora, has worked within refugee resettlement for over 15 years. Susan says, “The shocking thing is that many refugees we work with now have been displaced far longer than I have done this work. They are the true experts on the realities of displacement and resettlement, and…
Read MoreCHURCH LEADERS: A Prayer of Protest for the Church — Thy Kingdom Come
The current refugee crisis (the 65 million around the world, and the current discourse in the U.S.) has brought to the surface one of the hardest things about following Jesus—at least for me. As Christians, we believe that Jesus has already defeated evil, sin, and death. As Christians, we also know that evil, sin,…
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