In August 2013, when she was just 24, Joseline* fled her home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo after surviving a brutal act of sexual violence perpetrated by six unknown male attackers. Now 27, she is getting a new lease on life thanks to the help she received from HIAS.
Hawaye Djouma Yaya was born in Kadamoule, Sudan in 1940. But for the last decade she has called Bredjing refugee camp her home. "We have no one to provide for us and we are at the mercy of God," she tells HIAS.
In our work on four continents, we continue to be amazed by the strength and resilience of the women we encounter and serve. This International Women’s Day, let’s all speak up for the women and girls who have been displaced from their homes in staggering numbers.
A new report released by UNHCR calls attention to the growing plight of women in Central America and the forces that are causing them to flee from their home countries in ever increasing numbers.
Although there have been many struggles, Jainaba insists that leaving Gambia was the only way for her to feel safe. Her son says that finally seeing his mother again after three years was the happiest moment of his life.
I have recited the Shehecheyanu prayer more times than I can remember. Often I mutter the words in a perfunctory manner as part of a holiday blessing. Sometimes tears stream down my cheeks as I recite the blessing in a moment of great joy. But never have the words carried the meaning that they did when I recited the prayer during a recent visit to a HIAS-run support group for young Congolese refugees in Kampala, Uganda.
