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#WORLDREFUGEEDAY

As we come upon another World Refugee Day, we are reminded of how much work has been done over the last year. Cedars Network is growing in our staff members…
As we come upon another World Refugee Day, we are reminded of how much work has been done over the last year. Cedars Network is growing in our staff members and capabilities to empower Syrian families to rebuild their communities. We’ve also witnessed the ways that you are acting with us on the belief that each person is valuable, each person has a purpose, and each person deserves hope for the future. The global refugee crisis is a powerful reminder that we, as humans, need each other. Thank you for…

As we come upon another World Refugee Day, we are reminded of how much work has been done over the last year. Cedars Network is growing in our staff members and capabilities to empower Syrian families to rebuild their communities. We’ve also witnessed the ways that you are acting with us on the belief that each person is valuable, each person has a purpose, and each person deserves hope for the future.

The global refugee crisis is a powerful reminder that we, as humans, need each other. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for reaching out and showing that you want to see refugees thriving in our communities.

We’re also reminded on this day that there is still much work to be done. So many families have crossed another year off their calendars and still have no place to call home. The number of internationally displaced people still hover at record highs. There are still a staggering number of families surviving in camps instead of thriving in communities. According to the UNHCR spokesperson, Shabia Mantoo, less than 5% of the global refugee resettlement needs were met in 2018.

As public awareness and urgency decline, we’ve made a list of things you can do to remind your country, your community and most importantly, our refugee friends that you are still here and you still care.

5 things you can do, starting today:

  1. Find the closest city to you that is a resettlement city and connect with the local NGO that is providing care for resettled families. There are often opportunities such as adopting a family for acclimation needs, helping someone with a drivers license, tutoring a child in English, and many others.

  2. Join the UNHCR Step with Refugees movement. Do you already run, walk or cycle and want those miles to count toward something bigger?  This World Refugee Day, they are tracking the miles of people from all over the world who are joining in solidarity with families fleeing for their lives. The total goal is the distance refugee families cover each year to reach safety — 1 billion miles.

  3. Attend another World Refugee Day event  - Or create one of your own events among family, friends or faith group. Here’s everything you need for Syrian dinner party.

  4. Educate yourself on the global plight of refugees and use the #withrefugees and #worldrefugeeday hashtag to help spread awareness and hope.

Donate to our work among Syrian refugees.

Education

Game Day

Exams are over. *Sighs of relief* *Buzzing excitement* This week is the last week of class and today is Game Day at Tent of Joy! 85 students were split into…
Exams are over. *Sighs of relief* *Buzzing excitement* This week is the last week of class and today is Game Day at Tent of Joy! 85 students were split into 5 teams to compete for first place. Teams Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue competed in relay races, three-legged races, the parachute, and a circuit of indoor games. And the winner is... RED TEAM

Exams are over.

*Sighs of relief*

*Buzzing excitement*

This week is the last week of class and today is Game Day at Tent of Joy! 85 students were split into 5 teams to compete for first place. Teams Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue competed in relay races, three-legged races, the parachute, and a circuit of indoor games.

And the winner is...

RED TEAM

Education, Trauma Care

Super Heroes

Superman, Batman, Spiderman... These super heroes are known all over the world. Why? Because they use their powers to serve others. We believe a super hero is someone who goes…
Superman, Batman, Spiderman... These super heroes are known all over the world. Why? Because they use their powers to serve others. We believe a super hero is someone who goes out of their way to help and love someone else. All it takes is a simple act of kindness. We learned how we can all be super heroes by embracing character traits, such as, sharing, bravery, honesty, and thankfulness. First, we warmed up and stretched out. Being a super hero takes strength. Then we received our capes to clothe ourselves…

Superman, Batman, Spiderman... These super heroes are known all over the world. Why? Because they use their powers to serve others. We believe a super hero is someone who goes out of their way to help and love someone else. All it takes is a simple act of kindness.

We learned how we can all be super heroes by embracing character traits, such as, sharing, bravery, honesty, and thankfulness.

First, we warmed up and stretched out. Being a super hero takes strength.

Then we received our capes to clothe ourselves in kindness.

The arm guards are for compassion that lead to action.

Who can you help in a practical way, today?

The mask is to see the world through the lens of thankfulness.

Is there anything that you are thankful for today?

Then we had some good 'ol fashion fun!

We believe that together we can save the world. One person at a time. One community at a time. Join the Super Hero movement!

Trauma Care

Meet Maher

Meet our dear friend, Maher. He was born in Iraq and has fond memories of his childhood, especially playing soccer in the streets with his friends. His dream was to…
Meet our dear friend, Maher. He was born in Iraq and has fond memories of his childhood, especially playing soccer in the streets with his friends. His dream was to be a pro soccer player. As he sat in his classes at school, his mind would often wander to the field. But eventually, when Maher was in middle school, tensions increased so much in his city that he could no longer go to school or play soccer with his friends. "I have experienced healing and hope and I want others…

Meet our dear friend, Maher. He was born in Iraq and has fond memories of his childhood, especially playing soccer in the streets with his friends. His dream was to be a pro soccer player. As he sat in his classes at school, his mind would often wander to the field.

But eventually, when Maher was in middle school, tensions increased so much in his city that he could no longer go to school or play soccer with his friends.

"I have experienced healing and hope and I want others to experience this too!" - Maher

When One afternoon when Maher was a young teenager, he noticed a man walking down the street. A van pulled up next to this man, opened the door, and pointed a gun. The gunshots rang in Maher's ears and echoed through the street.

Eventually the violence was so bad that Maher's family decided to leave everything behind and move to a neighboring country. The transition was difficult. Because Maher had already missed a few years of school, attempting a new school system was overwhelming. He decided to work to help his family.

When we met Maher, we were thankful for his ability to speak English. When he was a child he had taught himself English by watching American movies. He began assisting us by coming with us to visit refugee families and helping with logistics for some of our projects. As he worked with us we learned his story and we were able to help him process his experiences and heal.

Maher's compassion and love for people amazed us. Soon he began to visit refugee families in his own time and tutor their children, helping them with their school work! They absolutely adored him!

After seeing him work hard with us for two years, we encouraged him to take an opportunity to get some training in the United States. But being in a foreign country didn't stop Maher from serving and loving others. He quickly got involved with organizations in the US that assist refugees. He would visit refugee families, help to teach English, and even mentor and coach a soccer team for Syrian boys that had recently immigrated from the Middle East.

 
Maher is doing what he is passionate about. He is living life to the fullest and helping others do the same. He has experienced healing and he wants to help others heal that have experienced trauma from war. And he is using his love for soccer to do it!
We are so proud of Maher and we are excited to welcome Maher back to the Middle East in just a few short months!
 
News

No Country

We want to give a shout out to our friend, John Mark McMillan and his song, No Country. There are so many people around the world that feel as though…
We want to give a shout out to our friend, John Mark McMillan and his song, No Country. There are so many people around the world that feel as though they don't belong. We hope this inspires you to extend a hand of compassion! "No matter who you are, there has been a time when you felt rejected, neglected, or unseen. My greatest hope for this song is that it would strike a nerve in you - maybe in a place where you've felt rejected - and in that you…

We want to give a shout out to our friend, John Mark McMillan and his song, No Country.

There are so many people around the world that feel as though they don't belong.

We hope this inspires you to extend a hand of compassion!

"No matter who you are, there has been a time when you felt rejected, neglected, or unseen. My greatest hope for this song is that it would strike a nerve in you - maybe in a place where you've felt rejected - and in that you could find compassion, solidarity, and the courage to open your heart to someone who isn't like you." - JMM

___

I feel the tremors, the rumors of war

Upon the surface of my door

And I’ve got no place to call my country

I’ve got no place to call my country anymore

I don’t have the tools to deal with this

I don’t have the drugs

And I’ve got no place to call my country

I’ve got no place to have my love anymore

Yeah, when the bomb went off

We were dancing in the kitchen with a neon cross

Yeah, baby I’m lost I never saw it coming

Never thought I’d wake up

With no place to call my country

I’ve got no place to call my country

My country

I know everyone of us are hypocrites

Still I never thought that it would come to this

No place to love, no place to exist

I’ve got no place to raise my kids

All of my reserves are compromised

You can punch a hole in all my alibis

I know that I’m wrong

But you don’t know you're blind

Do you see me

Do you see me tonight

Yeah, when the bomb went off

We were dancing in the kitchen with a neon cross

Yeah, baby I’m lost I never saw it coming

Never thought I’d wake up

With no place to call my country

I’ve got no place to call my country

My country

No place to call my country

I feel the tremors the rumors of war

Upon the surface of my door

Yeah, when the bomb went off

We were dancing in the kitchen with a neon cross

Yeah, when the call came back

I was standing in the shadow of a panic attack

Yeah, I don’t know where I’m at

And I never saw it coming

I never thought I’d wake up

With no place to call my country

I’ve got no place to call my country

My country

No place to call my country

My home

My home

___

"NO COUNTRY" by JOHN MARK MCMILLAN

Directed by Jared Hogan
Shot by Christian Schultz and Jared Hogan
Produced by Robert H. Dyar Jr.
Assistant Director Christian Schultz
Edited by Jared Hogan
Art Directed by Eric Hurtgen

Starring Molly Steele

Education

Celebration Day

Layla is one of seven children. She tends to get lost in the chaos of her brothers and sisters, but her love is fierce. When someone walks through the door…
Layla is one of seven children. She tends to get lost in the chaos of her brothers and sisters, but her love is fierce. When someone walks through the door to her small home, she is the first to sprint across the room and wrap her arms around the neck of an unsuspecting guest. After her father was killed in the conflict in Syria, Layla's mom decided to relocate her children to a neighboring country. The family spent many months in harsh camp conditions before moving to a small apartment…

Layla is one of seven children. She tends to get lost in the chaos of her brothers and sisters, but her love is fierce. When someone walks through the door to her small home, she is the first to sprint across the room and wrap her arms around the neck of an unsuspecting guest.

After her father was killed in the conflict in Syria, Layla's mom decided to relocate her children to a neighboring country. The family spent many months in harsh camp conditions before moving to a small apartment in densely populated area of a large city, where rent would be more affordable.

Layla's mom worked long hours washing dishes to try to provide for her children. However, in order to enroll her children in school she had to pay a fee for each child. Education was a luxury they couldn't afford.

When we met Layla, she was at least a couple years behind her age group. She joined our education program, along with her siblings, and flourished!

Every day she came excited and enthusiastic to learn. She finished the year in our program and on our end-of-year Celebration Day she was so proud. Now Layla and her siblings have been able to transition to a local school.

Celebrate sweet Layla's future with us!

Livelihood, News, Trauma Care

An Artist’s Dream

When we met Adeebah and her family there were obvious signs of trauma and PTSD. They were afraid of leaving their home, the youngest had trouble speaking, and they had…
When we met Adeebah and her family there were obvious signs of trauma and PTSD. They were afraid of leaving their home, the youngest had trouble speaking, and they had reoccurring nightmares and insomnia. Before the war, they lived in a beautiful home. Adeebah and her family would sit together in their courtyard in the morning listening to the birds chirp as they ate breakfast. Tensions began to rise in their town and her husband was kidnapped and tortured by the Syrian army for forty days. During that time, Adeebah…

When we met Adeebah and her family there were obvious signs of trauma and PTSD. They were afraid of leaving their home, the youngest had trouble speaking, and they had reoccurring nightmares and insomnia.

Before the war, they lived in a beautiful home. Adeebah and her family would sit together in their courtyard in the morning listening to the birds chirp as they ate breakfast.

Tensions began to rise in their town and her husband was kidnapped and tortured by the Syrian army for forty days. During that time, Adeebah was so afraid that she would sleep in the bathroom with her children at night, sure that one of the bombs she heard in the distance would find its way to their home before the sun rose. When her husband was finally released, they decided to take their children and escape to safety.

"Friends are a gift from God. I consider these friends [from Cedars Network] my sisters...

When my sister encouraged me to draw, I couldn't believe it was real."

One day we noticed that Adeebah had doodled on a napkin and because of our love for the arts, we brought her a sketchbook and drawing supplies the next time we saw her. Within a few weeks she filled her sketchbook with beautiful drawings expressing her emotions and experiences. She shared with us that this gave her real hope in the midst of what felt like a very hopeless situation.

After about a month, a group of volunteer's saw her drawings and over the next two years over a hundred of her drawings were sold all over the world, from Dubai to the US and Canada, helping to provide for her family.

You may have even purchased one of her drawings!

In the Fall of 2016, this precious family was finally allowed to immigrate to the US (after waiting several years). Since that time they have been diligently learning English, Adeebah's husband was able to find a job, and the children were finally able to go to school without being bullied.

Many wonderful people have continued to love and encourage this family over the last year and we are so grateful.

Adeebah has continued to use her charcoal as her means of expression and she was just featured in a local news article in their new US town. Her story may even be featured in an article in the New Times!

Thank you for helping to make Adeebah's dreams come true! She is flourishing!

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