APPLY TODAY FOR STORYRISE, OUR CONTENT CREATOR MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Blog

Lean on Me

This is how nonprofits work: You show up and lean on the strongest woman around. Meet that woman, Trisha Leimer, President of Their Story is Our Story.

September 26, 2016

Event

Running Water on Tour

The painting 'Running Water' was accepted into the Zion Art Society Competition. It will run from 24 Sept to 13 October. It will then travel with 24 other paintings to a show in conjunction with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' Oakland CA Temple Open House for October and November.

September 13, 2016

Unstoppable Women

These beautiful women are unstoppable! They belong to a group of senior couple missionaries who serve several times a week in camps in the area and spread sunshine to their sister refugees and grandmotherly love to the children.

August 22, 2016

Building Connections

German, Syrian, Iranian, American...these labels evaporate when we reach out with our hands and with our hearts...and we become brothers and sisters supporting each other.

August 18, 2016

In The News

BYU Magazine: Strangers No More

Eyes speak. That morning at the Limburg refugee camp, I heard volumes.“Guten Tag,” I said, tipping my head toward the man sitting alone at the end of the table. One of the dozens of refugees I’d met while volunteering as a German teacher in camps near Frankfurt, he had drawn my attention more than once.

July 31, 2016

Drawing a Crowd

TSOS Team Member and portrait artist Elizabeth Thayer literally draws a crowd while she's sketching!

July 8, 2016

Greece

Our team is halfway through our documentary visits to refugee camps in Greece and Germany, and we are so grateful to the generous donors who made this happen.

July 8, 2016

Meeting Aeham

Aeham had just returned from a long, tiring trip to Poland, where he had performed yet another concert without pay. He was tired but graciously met with us and shared his commitment to help solicit aid for his fellow refugees through his music.

July 7, 2016

They Said Yes!

Our team has expanded to include a web designer and a graphic designer! Volunteers from around the world have stepped forward to help in various ways.

July 5, 2016

Sunday Rainday

Like the day itself, the many hours together alternated from smile and laughter to silence and weeping, from running through puddles to crying them.

July 3, 2016
25 26 27 28 2930
What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS


Add Impact to Your Inbox
Sign up for our emails to get inspiring stories and updates delivered straight to you.
Subscribe
© 2026 Their Story is Our Story Privacy Policy
Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.