A Heart in the Right Place
Ever since grade school, Abel Getachew has known what he wanted to do with his life—heart surgery for those in need. “When I was in elementary school,
Category: Portland
Fighting for a Better Life
Life in calm Clackamas, Oregon, where Hamada Haaji Chamada lives with his family is very different from the war-torn city of Mogadishu, Somalia,
A Resilient Daughter of the Arab Spring
When Rama Yousef was born in the Syrian capital of Damascus in 1999, her father cursed and cried tears of frustration. She was his fourth child and not the son […]
Come Up and Speak Up
When Hameda Dil Mohamed, 21, spoke in Pioneer Square last September at a rally in support of Rohingya refugees she hoped
She is a Girl-Power Grandma
When Michael, age 9, was asked to identify the girl-power women in his life, his first choice was his surrogate grandmother. Vera Moroz, 76, was an immigrant
Building a Home and a New Life
Neither Govinda nor Januka ever expected to own a house. Govinda Dhimal and his wife Januka Bokhrel both grew up in refugee camps in Nepal.
I Had to Earn my Way
Dr. Rahel Nardos’ credentials as an M.D. from Yale are not enough for some people, who question her status as a medical professional
Broken Glass to Breakout Senior
In 2013, when a bomb exploded and shattered all the windows of 15-year-old Sara Mohamed’s classroom in Damascus, Syria, she better understood
Undocumented and Unafraid
When Efrain first sauntered into his AP literature class in high school, something triggered him: He noticed that he was the only student of color in the room.
Leaving Cuba for a Brighter Future
In 2011 at 16, when Ruben left the bright, sunny and festive Santiago de Cuba for an unfamiliar life in Portland, Oregon it was bittersweet.
The Best Of Both Worlds
When her 10-year-old daughter asked her, “What will happen to us? Will we be shipped out?” Sabina neither knew what to say or how to respond to her when she […]
Rebuilding Her Life to Reconcile
One of Dijana’s earliest memories is of sleeping in the woods with her family. They weren’t camping for fun though — they were hiding. “We were attacked in Bosnia
Capitalizing on Opportunities
Daadir took his first steps on American soil just three years ago, at the age of fourteen. “A lot of immigrants that come to America suffered hardship,” he reflected. “That […]
A Once in a Lifetime Journey
“When I was in a band, I pretended I was straight the whole time,” Franklin says. “Nobody knew I was living a double private life as a rockstar and a […]
Making Her Family Proud
When remembering her childhood in Nepal, Anisha Ginshing reveals that her own mother has not seen her parents in 20 years. When Anisha’s mother fled Bhutan,