Refugees are people who have fled the chaos of war and persecution and crossed out of the border of their country. They cannot return to their homelands. Most are women and children. All have lost family, jobs, homes and support systems. According to estimates from the World Refugee Survey, there are more than 14 million refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world in need of protection and assistance. An estimated 70% of these are women and children. Once they have fled to a neighboring country, refugees are interviewed by staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to determine their status.

Those who meet the criteria are documented as refugees and allowed to remain in that country, usually in a refugee camp. Then they wait – for many months, even years, for a solution to their situation. Most would go home if conditions would allow it, but this is often not possible. Another solution is to start over in a neighboring country that is similar in culture, agriculture, food and culture. Unfortunately, many nearby countries are poor and unable to absorb the refugees. The last solution is to be resettled in a 3rd country like the U.S. Fewer than 1% of all refugees are able to start over in another country. Learn more...