Blog
Helping with all my Heart
Cristobal and Martha are a power couple, dedicating so much of their time and energy to helping anyone who needs a little extra help. The words and actions behind the work that we witnessed from Martha and Cristobal are absolutely reflected in the name of their Church and non-profit organization - Helping With All My Heart.
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Perspective and Proximity: the Curtailment of Pride
I have so many questions: how do we decide who deserves refuge and who doesn’t? Have we ever needed refuge, or even imagined what circumstances would send us thousands of miles by foot to beg for refuge? But it comes down to one: “who would I give shelter to?”... I lie awake at night wondering what I can possibly say to help people understand what I’ve come to know for myself.
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Our First University Chapter at BYU and Debut Event
Six weeks almost to the day from when we were officially recognized as an on-campus organization, we held our first event as the newly-formed pilot chapter of TSOS.
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Cheering Louder
Everyone can do something to drown out hate with love. We can all go to the places where newcomers are settling in our own communities and cheer louder.
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Direct Help for Asylum Seekers coming from Detention Centers
Are you feeling helpless and wish you knew who and how to help? While in Arizona, we met and interviewed many organizations that are on the ground, in the trenches, meeting the immediate and urgent needs of those coming directly from ICE detention centers.
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Refugee Food Festival
Food is a universal way of communicating who we are, where we've come from, and what we have to offer those around us. There are few things more central and foundational to our human connectedness than through the act of breaking bread together.
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The Shocking Stories we Found at the US Border that are now My Story
I can't help but be reminded of this truth, that is screaming through my exhausted body and soul today: THEIR STORY IS MY STORY.
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Stories of Loss — Stories of Reconnection
Author Johann Hari argues that depression doesn't stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain, but from life circumstances, especially those that disconnect us. It comes as no surprise that mental health issues are common among refugees. Fleeing your home and country means loss and disconnection, but knowing what disconnects, can help build reconnection.
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Oh you Ocean: Hamed's poem
My name is Hamed. This is my poem. I am from Afghanistan, in Kabul. I worked with the US Army as an interpreter. When the American troops left Afghanistan, the lives of all the interpreters were in danger. Many times we were threatened by the Taliban. I made it to safety in Switzerland and volunteer with Their Story is Our Story to help gather and share the stories of others forced to flee.
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Notre Dame & Sanctuary
Notre Dame reminds me of the tradition of sanctuary, offering refuge and aid to those in need, especially strangers and foreigners. As heartbreaking as it is to see the destruction of Notre Dame, it has been heartening for me to witness from afar the entire city of Paris gathering in solidarity and pledging to rebuild.
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