June marks World Refugee Awareness Month
By Pinkston News Service | June 20, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC—(Pinkston News Service)—To help mark World Refugee Awareness Month, we shine a spotlight on how one leading global resettlement agency, World Relief, helped a woman and her family flee the war-torn and poverty-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo and find medical care as well as peace and hope for a better life in America.
Claudine Furaha and her five children were among the millions of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have been affected by decades of war, violence and poverty. In 2021, Claudine was injured twice by gunfire – but was unable to receive treatment as the local hospitals lacked the proper medical resources needed to treat her injuries.
When Claudine was informed that she could be treated with the medicine she needed in America, she and her family made the difficult decision to flee their home country. In October 2021, while still nursing her untreated injuries, Claudine arrived in Fort Worth with help from World Relief North Texas.
Once in America, World Relief was able to help Claudine get medical attention. And with the help of a caseworker, she was able to find housing, food, create a budget, and much more. But adjustment to their new life in America needed to go beyond the bare necessities. That meant cultural immersion, from going to see Christmas decorations to attending church services in Fort Worth.
“World Relief does good work,” Claudine said. “My caseworker Taylor helped us with so many things, and she also took us to do things outside of World Relief. She took us to have fun. I love Taylor like my own family, and Taylor loves us.”
Claudine noted that the most transformative impact of her resettlement in America was that she finally “found peace.” Claudine is now working on her English language skills, and as a mother, she takes great joy in knowing that her children are able to pursue an education and life experience they would never have had in the Congo.
Founded in 1944, World Relief (www.worldrelief.org) is a UN-recognized Christian humanitarian organization that partners with more than 6,000 churches and 95,000 global volunteers to bring sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest challenges – including disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression and mass displacement. To date, World Relief has welcomed well over 250,000 refugees from approximately 100 countries and is actively working with resettlement efforts for those who have fled the war in Ukraine.
According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) statistics, close to 90 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the close of 2021. Some 27 million were refugees.
SOURCE
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