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Blog

Dignifying Receiving

Small heart-shaped balloons purchased by a man who knew first hand the indebtedness the recipients would feel allowed receivers at a Christmas donation event to give something in return.

February 6, 2021

Event

The Story of Our Journey: Phoenix, AZ Showing on Friday, January 22, 2021

The Story of Our Journey recounts the journey of refugees worldwide through personal experiences of individuals interviewed by Their Story is Our Story (TSOS), and was done in collaboration with Dylan Findley, the composer, and Csaba Jevtic-Somlai, the principle clarinet in the project.

January 19, 2021

One is a Life ... One is a Story

"One is a life. One is a story. One is a tragedy. One is a new start.

One is renewed hope, and one is where we begin again to put our world

back together..."

January 16, 2021

Breaking Bread

On World Refugee Day - June 20, 2019, at Hellgate High School, in Missoula, Montana, 435 youth came together for a summer service-learning opportunity directed by TSOS Refugees.

January 16, 2021

Book Review

Sharing Connections through Books

Lubna and Pebble

Sharing books together is one of the quickest and most effective ways to connect with one another. By sharing in great books about refugees, our hope is that you and your children will feel a connection with their experiences and recognize that we are all more similar than we realize.

January 14, 2021

Crisscross Paths and Chance Encounters

Maintaining hope in humanity can be difficult in a world filled with contention and distrust, but when four seemingly unrelated people connect by chance to result in the gifting of a car to a newcomer, goodness and brotherhood are reaffirmed.

January 14, 2021

The Potato Fields

"Entering and exiting people’s pain is so uncomfortable – by far the worst feeling about crisis work or international development..."

January 13, 2021

"Auntie Farida" - Supporting Refugee Women

“When we see something wrong we must try and do something about it. Dilek is a doer. You will like her..."

January 13, 2021

Leadership Influences Integration

"We listened to [Angela Merkel's] warm words encouraging Germans to embrace the refugees flooding into Europe at that moment. We had tears in our eyes and agreed whole-heartedly with her vision to welcome refugees..."

January 9, 2021

Book Review

Education is Everything

"Refugee families have had a very difficult time sending their children back to school because they cannot afford the school fees at the private schools their children have to attend..."

January 9, 2021
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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

Will you help us keep telling the truth?

No donation is too small — and it only takes a minute of your time.

Why give monthly?

We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

  • New refugee storytelling and advocacy projects
  • Resources to train and equip forcibly displaced people to share their own stories
  • Public education that challenges fear with empathy
  • Local efforts that help communities welcome and integrate newcomers

As our thank-you, monthly supporters receive fewer fundraising messages — and more stories of the impact they’re making possible.

You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

Can you give today — and help carry these stories forward?

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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.