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Education

Marzia and Razia snow photo
Marzia and Razia  ·  Afghanistan
IMG 6518
Noor  ·  Afghanistan

NOOR

Diary of An Afghan Woman
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Hasti  ·  Afghanistan

HASTI

Diary of An Afghan Woman
Baran Avatar with text
Baran  ·  Afghanistan

BARAN

Diary of An Afghan Woman
ZOYA Avatar
Zoya  ·  Afghanistan

ZOYA

Diary of An Afghan Woman
Kadija
Kadija and Idris  ·  Somalia

You Have to Be Able to Trust Yourself

" When we first landed in America, we found a taxi, but my family didn’t speak English. Everybody laughed when we tried to talk, we thought that no one cared about us anymore..."
Natalie Dress Shop
Natalie  ·  Democratic Republic of the Congo

Belonging: Undeniable

I want them to dream, to know that we can do it too.
Rawah
Rawah  ·  Iraq

Here I Can Make My Own Future

Here I can make my own life
Rita 2018
Rita  ·  Iraq

I Wanted to Be in Charge of My Destiny

In America, people follow their dreams
Maddie and Wilmot Collins - Mayor
Wilmot & Maddie Collins  ·  Liberia

I'm Here To Listen

Wilmot Collins - Mayor of Helena, Montana
Zeze Rwasama
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Where You Are Needed

Maybe it's not about what you want to become, it's about where you're needed.
WHAT WE CARRY Rasheeda
Rasheeda  ·  Iran

The Journey: What We Carry

I pray most of all for my children who are still in Afghanistan and Iran.
Hania, West Africa
Haniah - West Africa  ·  Ghana

Arrival: Law

"He left me with two babies and went to Libya ... I wemt to Libya, but I didn't find him."
ROYA AND MUNIR OUR LIVES BEFORE UNTHINKABLE LOVED ONE THREATENED
Roya  ·  Afghanistan

Our Lives Before: The Unthinkable Happened

In the constitution, on paper, women have equal rights with men, but in reality, they have no rights there.
OUR LIVES BEFORE Leonard Bagalwa
Leonard  ·  Democratic Republic of the Congo

Our Lives Before: Born a Survivor

Forced to be a rebel then a spy, Leonard was protected by the pygmies
D C Sunset Run for Refugees 2019
Afghanistan

Sunset Run For Refugees, D.C.

Refugees and advocates ran or walked from George Washington University to Lincoln Memorial (approximately 2 miles) as part of an annual event in celebration of World Refugee Day. An Afghan family from Kabul seeking refuge in Frankfurt, Germany, would have to walk almost 4300 miles. That distance is the equivalent of walking from Boston, Massachusettes to San Diego, California, then up the West Coast past Seattle, Washington to the Canadian border.
Julie Anderson, Frankfurt, Germany
United States

She Established a Library for Refugees

I’m thankful to be a small part of this.
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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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