Category: Storytelling

Defying the Odds All Along

Growing up in a refugee camp in Tanzania, Jeanette watched the women in her family follow a familiar path—leaving school young, entering early marriages,

An Escape To a New Beginning

As members of Afghanistan’s Hazara ethnic minority, Mohsin’s family has endured generations of persecution. From a young age, he understood the

Gifts to Carry You Forward

Toc was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came to the US at the age of three. As the eldest child in her family, she often had to […]

Behind the Mountain: A Story

Naw Abikaila Ki (Nawbi) started life in a refugee camp in Thailand. As members of the ethnic minority, the Karen, Nawbi’s family have no territory to call their own

I Am An American: I Do Belong Here

Growing up in Vietnam, Thao Nguyen always felt like an outsider. As one of 23,000 mixed-race children left behind by US servicemen,  

A Love Worth Fighting For

It took sneaking out of school for a coffee date, countless phone calls, a year of opening just one love letter a day, getting two families to agree  

Shall We Dance Bollywood?

As a student in India, Prashant worked hard and finally achieved the American dream of a well-paying job in engineering and a career that made his parents proud.  

Food Feeds our Souls

Born in Tehran, Iran in 1978, during the Iranian revolution, Sara came to Portland with her family in 1986. As young teenagers,

Taking Some Losses to Win

TK grew up in segregated Rhodesia under British control and experienced the joyous birth of independent Zimbabwe. As a young lawyer,  

There is No Peace in Kunar Valley

As a boy growing up in a remote valley near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nasirullah was fascinated by the US soldiers who came to fight the Taliban  

This is what I want, To Be Who I Am

Franke Tokam-Powell was born in Douala, Cameroon. As a quiet effeminate boy, he always felt he did not fit in so, when he got the chance to go to college […]

One Voice Brings a Big Change

Meghna Damani grew up in the thriving city of Mumbai, India and established herself in a flourishing career in marketing. But when she married her long-time boyfriend 

Caught Between War and Paperwork

Newly married, Ghassan Bin Hammam came to get a graduate degree in the US, planning to return to Yemen to teach. But, on a quick trip back  

Discovering Our Stories

Growing up close to his paternal grandparents in southern Oregon, Toby Asai Loftus was always intrigued by the other half of his family,