GenR DC Metro is running a Back to School Backpack Drive out the IRC Silver Spring Office. We are doing a big push this month for backpacks and supplies for refugee and immigrant children in the DC Metro area. Our goal is to supply 50 families and we need your support!

In May students from the University of Kansas School of Medicine Pediatrics department shared an evening with 30 high school students in IRC Wichita’s Refugee and Immigrant Student Empowerment Program, (RISE). The evening was an opportunity for the pediatric medical residents to meet some of the RISE members and for RISE members to connect with their community. 

In 2018, the IRC assisted over 120,000 Syrian refugees and low-income Jordanians to access healthcare, protection, education and income generation opportunities. One of the recent changes that IRC staff have noticed is that Syrian women are taking on more of an income earning role than was the norm back in Syria and that this is creating changes in household dynamics.

An intense war in Ukraine has created mass displacement and is fueling a humanitarian crisis unlike any in Europe since World War II.

The IRC in Denver provides a variety of unpaid internships. Interns have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and learn about the diverse services and programs that help refugees regain control of their lives and become self-sufficient in the U.S. 

On August 24, the IRC in Atlanta held a high school graduation ceremony to honor 20 hard-working students in our Connect 2 Success (C2S) program—one of the only programs in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to supporting out-of-school refugee youth ages 16 to 24 to pursue their education and career goals.

We put the call out for backpacks and school supplies and you delivered! We've received 200 backpacks, tons of school supplies, and healthy snacks for refugee and immigrant students heading back to school. Thank you to all community members and organizations who contributed!

Jaya Maya came to the U.S. from Bhutan five years ago with her husband, mother-in-law, and son. After 22 years living in a refugee camp in Nepal, Jaya Maya is glad to be able to continue valuable cultural traditions around farming while nourishing themselves and their families with fresh grown produce through the assistance of the IRC in Baltimore's New Roots program.

Originally from Burundi, Vital was one of thousands of Burundians forced to flee in 1972. At 19 years old, he lived in a temporary center that hosted refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. He spent ten years in the DRC and continued his education despite the challenging circumstances.