Give Hope | Year-End Giving 2023
Give Hope to Refugee Women
Your gifts are creating opportunities and overcoming fears!
In her younger years Arwa assumed she’d spend the rest of her life in Damascus, Syria, just like her mother and grandmother. And then in 2011 the fighting started. Remembering that time period, Arwa shudders and her eyes well up with tears. “People were sick from the fear,” she says.
In 2013, Arwa and her husband and children fled to Jordan where they were safer, but life essentially became a dead end of fear and waiting. In 2016 they got the opportunity to permanently resettle in the U.S. as refugees.
As life became more established in St. Louis, Arwa wanted to work outside of the home. Again, she had to face fears. “I thought I would fail if I tried to work,” Arwa said. Through Forai she discovered the exact opposite. And she gained a pathway to part-time employment.
“Arwa is clearly a bright woman. She didn’t need intelligence, talent, or will—she just needed an opportunity.”
Arwa’s gratitude spills out when she speaks about the partners who make Forai’s mission possible. “Thank you to the people who support Forai,” she says. “At times it can feel like no one cares about refugees—but people are giving to help people they don’t even know! That’s a great thing.”
Your generosity will propel the mission of Forai forward into 2024.
For 14 years, Forai has focused on helping resettled refugee and immigrant women just like Sui with three things: dignity, empowerment, and community. Forai is a place of refuge for the refugee, connecting women with American friends and opportunities to generate income for their families while learning jewelry-making or sewing and other crucial job-related skills.
A year-end donation of any amount says “yes” to welcoming more women into the Forai empowerment process.
- A set of English Language Learning Materials ($50)
- A sewing machine or jewelry-making tools to use at home ($100)
- Monthly training in English, computer literacy, and job-related skills for Admin Artisans ($250)
- Six months of ongoing training for a Forai Artisan ($500)
- A six-week Community Sewing Class for 6-11 women ($1000)