Melissa is an author, poet, essayist, blogger, and public speaker who has lived in Paris, Vienna, Hong Kong, New York City, Munich, Singapore, Geneva and Frankfurt. For years her work has explored the role of community in the face of major personal loss and “globility“ which has connected her in very real ways to the people she met as a volunteer in the camps of Frankfurt. She now uses her talents to tell their stories.
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