Posts Tagged ‘Sacramento’

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…

“My name is Ara. I am 37 years old, and I am from Afghanistan.” She wears a floral print blouse and a black headscarf. She has just finished that day’s Vocational English class, which meets Monday through Thursday for four-hour sessions at World Relief Sacramento.   An interpreter is present, and when asked to tell her story, Ara switches from hesitant…

In July, the Immigration Legal Services (ILS) program offered DACA renewal services for the first time to over 60 individuals through volunteer-staffed workshops. In 1998, Brandon Vega Ayala came to the U.S. at the age of two. His mother decided to flee an abusive relationship and her family saved the money to help her and…

We hosted a volunteer appreciation block party, transforming the nondescript alley behind our office into a festive space decked out with string lights, gold confetti, balloons and colorful table settings. In addition to his official Director title, Kerry Ham was also the event’s unofficial grill master. He spent most of the day preparing chicken and…

Where do you go if your sister in your home country is being persecuted for her faith? If a teenage son who left his family behind to escape harm is now stranded in Europe while the rest of the family has been resettled to the U.S.? When you’re a first-generation immigrant and you want to…