World Refugee Day: One Day Late
Oh my, the exhaustion! Three full days of an event in Dallas, then four full days of meetings with our ministerial team only to return to Houston late last night. And still, I write this, full of hope.
In this time, I have been reminded of our commitment to meeting the needs of refugees and I have been reminded that we are not alone. At our conference in Dallas so many came alongside us to support us, participating in events, making purchases and expressing their belief in what we are doing. Thank you. You will never know how encouraged we were to keep on keeping on. Then, for the past several days of meetings with our team, we have talked and strategized about how we can accomplish the task before us in such a way that refugees are able to thrive. There is hope. Yesterday was World Refugee Day. Of course, it would have been my preference to have had this blog post ready twenty-four hours earlier. We also tried to organize an event, a sale, a collaboration. Everything fell through. A solid week of travel, conferences and meetings made it impossible. But what feels most important to me right now is to express gratitude and that I can do any day!
This is what I am grateful for, what we are grateful for: Thank you to those who have seen our model and are working to find ways to hire refugees and help them have careers, not just jobs. Thank you to a team of folks who is committed to helping us understand and seek out best practices. Thank you to every single one of you who has supported us in a variety of ways whether you purchased, donated, or encouraged. Most of all, thank you to our team of artisans both here and abroad who have made Threads by Nomad who we are today. Happy World Refugee Day even if it is a day late! If you left home and found your way to us, then we are happy you are here. For those of you overseas, our hope and prayer is that you are able to thrive in your country, that we can contribute to your success, and that you are never forcibly displaced. We believe in you. We love you.