Rayan

Meet Rayan, an Afghan man who arrived in Cleveland just a few short months ago.  His story is similar to many other recent Afghan arrivals - he assisted and worked closely with the U.S military for many years in Afghanistan - then, he and his wife were exited quickly from the country for their own safety as it collapsed last August.

“My wife and I were separated when we left Afghanistan. She was at a military base in Virginia, and I was in New Jersey. She was in trouble there. She was depressed. I was able to request we move somewhere together, and we came to Ohio to be near some relatives of mine here,” says Rayan.

When the couple first came to Cleveland, they relied on help from others to find a place to live. They were together and safe, but they needed so much more. Rayan has strong English skills, thanks to his years of practicing with U.S. soldiers, but his wife, although educated in Afghanistan, had very weak English when they arrived, making the transition difficult for the couple.

“My dreams came true when I found The Hope Center (THC),” says Rayan. “My wife’s English is improving day by day because of THC. She can now manage herself and her life better because she’s learning English. We also received tools for our home and other supports like consultations, help to find jobs, help with computers. Now when we face a problem, we come here. They help us with many issues.”

Meeting tangible, short-term needs is essential for the success of newcomers and their families, yet it’s the people at THC who are offering lasting hope to Rayan, his wife and many more like them. “At THC, we are interacting with Arabic and Spanish speakers, and we are all sharing our views, our ideas and talking about our cultures and cultural differences.  That, to me, has been fantastic,” he says. “We got help and support here from the staff. They are our heroes.”

When a crisis hits, things of familiarity are a great comfort. Home is often that constant place of refuge and peace, especially during difficult times, but for hundreds of newly arriving Afghans like Rayan and his wife, home is the very thing they lost.

Thanks to your ongoing commitment to THC, newcomers may be far from what they know as home, but they can rebuild a sense of home through support, community and the love of Jesus. “The people at THC reassure us that life will get easier than it is right now. They give us a lot of motivation. They love people here so well, and now my goal is to give back to this center because this center helped me,” says Rayan.

Give to our current Rebuilding Home Campaign to support THC here!