Sarah Kippen Wood, Former Executive Director of Their Story is Our Story (TSOS), shares how stories connect and lead to change in an interview with Darien Laird, our Director of External Media. Sarah gives us an inside look at how TSOS functions and shares how telling her story helped her fight a stage four cancer diagnosis. Watch the story.
Darien:
How have you seen stories make an impact on your community and then have you had any personal experiences with stories, maybe with you or your family?
Sarah:
TSOS taught me a lot about how to share my own story. I had to step away from my work with TSOS when I was diagnosed with stage four cancer…I had to find someone willing to give their liver to me, which meant I had to quickly become a teller of my own story… It was pretty uncomfortable at times. I never really wanted to be a cancer poster child, and I especially didn’t want to exploit my kids in the process. But I had to share my story to get attention on the issue in order to find a good match.
What began as me reluctantly sharing my personal story for primarily selfish motives, hopingnto find my own donor match, wound up having a bigger impact on my community. What I didn’t realize, was that sharing my story inspired someone else to take action in their own life.
Now, their story is linked to my story. This linking of stories is what TSOS is all about.
Darien:
You were sharing stories during your chemotherapy treatments… Is there any particular story that really impacted you?
Sarah:
Noor’s story impacted, has impacted, and continues to impact my life. And where do I go from here? I can turn to my neighborhood with a newcomer family and welcome them in ways that they need to be welcomed. Because I heard Noor’s story and because it increased my understanding and empathy. And because when I welcome someone else, maybe instead of welcoming them with these twinges of pride or unknowingly patronizing condescension, I can see in someone else’s face myself. And I think that that is the way we can welcome people in a way that helps them feel like they truly belong somewhere, helps us all feel like we belong to the same community.
Official Statement on the Detention of Refugees and Ongoing Community Violence
With another death in Minnesota and continued violence toward individuals and groups standing up for their communities, we acknowledge the profound fear and uncertainty people are feeling--not just locally, but across the country.
On top of this, there are reports that refugees invited and admitted to our country through the U.S. Refugee Admission Program are now being detained, meaning that our new friends and neighbors feel that fear most acutely.
Refugees have already fled violence and persecution once. They came here legally, seeking safety. In moments like these, we reaffirm our commitment to building communities where refugees and immigrants can live without fear. Where they can go to work, send their children to school, and build lives of dignity and belonging.
We call for due process, accountability, and humanity in all immigration enforcement operations. We call upon our leaders to demand the demilitarization of our neighborhoods and cities. And we call on all of us to continue the work of welcoming and protecting those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.