Contributors

Leah Durst-Lee

Board Member, Board Member

Leah is a researcher and advocate for the rights of un/documented migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. She is a Human Rights PhD candidate at the University of Coimbra, Portugal researching border securitization, migration management, and the erosion of the right to seek asylum. She also holds an International Law and Human Rights MA from the United Nations University for Peace, Costa Rica and an Advanced Migration Studies MA from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

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

Support Monthly Give Once

Add Impact
to Your Inbox

Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.