Elayna Yussen

Speaking Out: From Poetry to Politics

Don’t let 17-year-old Belise Nishimwe’s petite stature fool you. Measuring in at just 4 feet 9.5 inches tall, she is bursting with confidence, charisma and big ideas

Sankar Raman

Finding His Footing on the Pitch

Wilondja Mashimango spent his childhood on the soccer field. One day on the pitch, he heard someone greet him and turned around to reply. However, what he

Sankar Raman

The Architect of Her Own Future

It was her birthday, an especially happy one because she got to see her mom. Johana Amani and her sister rarely saw their mother because

Sankar Raman

Learning How to Change the World

At four years old, already aiming  to “fix things,” Milen Gebreamlak decided she would become president of Eritrea to make things better.

Sankar Raman

Doing Everything With Her Own Hands

Ayan Salat can teach you all about scorpions. She can make fluffy injera bread and cook meals for an entire household. Ayan could ghost-write your next

Jim Lommasson

Tea Pot and Glass, Homs, Syria

Ola Helal: This kettle is my favorite. I brought it from my country on 5/29/2008. We like tea, and when we left our home we took this kettle with us.

Sankar Raman

Headphones In, Hate Speech Out

Farhia’s path to her new home in Portland called for courage and resourcefulness. She has faced repeated harassment about her skin color and her hijab

Jim Lommasson

Paint Tubes, Baghdad, Iraq

Hussein Alkhudhari: And when it was Impossible for me to carry my mother; my palm tree and my home; and all those faces that I love; instead I carried my

Jim Lommasson

I Heart Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

Iman Shati: This pottery form includes on it many traces from Iraq’s great history, Malyaia Sammarra, Lion of Babylon, Ziggurat Ur, and Ishtar Gate.

Jim Lommasson

Flip Flops, Basrah, Iraq

Mujtaba Ashour: I am Mujtaba 15 years old, I bought these shoes from Al-Ashar in Basrah 5 years ago. I could not believe that I will travel to USA one […]

Jim Lommasson

Photograph, Bozan, Nieveh, Iraq

Diyar Al Khalo: This picture was taken back on Feb 11, 2013 while I was praying at Lalish temple. I prayed for the whole world to be safe and sound. […]

Sankar Raman

Choosing Survival, Again and Again

When your world is torn apart around you, you have to decide whether to give up or to keep going. Peter Magai Bul has had to make that decision a […]

Sankar Raman

Be Whoever You Want to Be

Like her journey as a refugee, becoming who she is today has not been easy for Irakoze Diane. That is why “Irakoze” is not just a name — it is a […]

Sankar Raman

Let Nothing Hold You Back

Beneath the star-studded sky of Makamba, Burundi, 6-month-old Olive Bukuru clung to her father’s hip as they fled on foot for roughly 100 miles to Tanzania.

Sankar Raman

Something To Be Proud Of

Felix Songolo does not remember much of what he left behind in Africa.  His family left the Democratic Republic of Congo before he was born