Contributors

LaFern Pritchard De Molder

Community Programs Coordinator, Germany

From my friend Hakim who escaped Afghanistan and turned up at Willamette High School in Eugene, Oregon, to teaching English to South-east Asians in Salt Lake City, Utah while at college, or getting to know my north African neighbors while living in France, and welcoming refugees in Germany; these people have all become dear friends as I learned who is inside what we call a "refugee". I am an American married to a French/Flemish man and have been living in Germany for the last 22 years. We have four grown children who speak at least three languages and grew up living in and appreciating various cultures. I studied International Relations at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah and have a Master's Degree in TESOL from Trinity College of London.

Elsewhere

Leadership Influences Integration

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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