New name.
Same mission.
LIRS is now Global Refuge.
Welcoming newcomers since 1939.
See Our Evolution
Olesia and Kira’s Story: Our Whole Life Packed Up
Olesia came to the United States with nothing but a small bag and her six-year-old daughter, Kira, in tow.
Experience the StoryFollow their journeys
Sharing the stories of immigrants and former refugees in their own words.
Every person has a story. We invite you to learn from the resilient people who have shared theirs with us.
Emillie’s Story: Crossing the River
Emillie was only 8 years old when she and her family were forced to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo. They spent 15 years living in Uganda as refugees—but they knew it was not their home.
Yemelianova Family’s Story: Everything Will be Peaceful
When the Yemelianova family's journey to the United States was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they had no idea they would find themselves fleeing a country at war only two years later.
Helal’s Story: My Crime is Being a Woman
Helal Massomi was forced to flee her country and seek safety in the United States.
Bhuwan’s Story: Hope Was There
Bhuwan Pyakurel lived in a refugee camp with his family for 18 years before being resettled by Global Refuge. He was elected to the city council of Reynoldsburg, Ohio in 2020.
Emillie’s Story: Crossing the River
Emillie was only 8 years old when she and her family were forced to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo. They spent 15 years living in Uganda as refugees—but they knew it was not their home.
Olesia and Kira’s Story: Our Whole Life Packed Up
Olesia came to the United States with nothing but a small bag and her six-year-old daughter, Kira, in tow.
Wilmot’s Story: Civil War to Civil Service
Before he became the first Black mayor of Helena, Montana, Wilmot Collins was a refugee fleeing from the deadly Liberian Civil War of the 1990s.
Shareef and Khadija’s Story: The Country of Safety
When war broke out in Syria. the Almohammed family fled for their lives—only to spend nearly a decade in a refugee camp.
Maja’s Story: Beyond the Refugee Label
When Maja left Bosnia, she thought she would be gone for two weeks, maybe three—but she never returned.
Ukraine Generations: Three Mothers Resettled
When the war broke out in Ukraine, Liubov Hromova was forced to pack four generations of her family into a car and flee, leaving a lifetime of memories behind.
Huda’s Story: As A Hardworking Single Mother
I was resettled to VA in 2014 as a refugee with my three minor daughters. Since that time, my husband has been waiting in Jordan in immigration limbo, hoping to reunite with us in the U.S.
Basel’s Story: Opening the Doors to Love
Before I met Rana, I had never even thought about going to the United States. I was working with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, helping people as a first-responder in a Syria that was crumbling before our eyes.
Awn’s Story: A Place Where All People Can Be Free
When I think back on my life – and the time before I came to America – I feel like I’m sleeping. Like I have a dream within my dream and I see the lights coming in…
Delia’s Story: A Mosaic Of Immigration Stories
My mother is from a little town called Alamo, in South Texas on the border. She lived there with her three siblings and her parents, and they lived with their landlords, Concepcion “Connie” and Rafael.
Selena’s Story: America is Called Home
Home. It takes only four letters to write the word, but for some, it takes a lifetime to find its meaning. The word has caused me, as a former refugee, much pain, confusion, and uncertainty.