We’re thrilled about the celebrations in place to commemorate 500,000 lives transformed through LIRS and Lutheran ministries over the past 75 years. One of the ways we are celebrating is through training former refugees to advocate for others who are still on the journey to safety.
Aimee Zangandou is one of the outstanding former refugees who was selected to participate in the event. Now a staff member at Lutheran Services Georgia (LSG), her family fled the Rwandan genocide in 1994. LSG recently blogged on her journey to safety and planned advocacy in D.C.
LSG writes:
Aimee, her parents, and her three siblings lived in a refugee camp for one year before relocating to Niger. In 1997, when Aimee was only 16 years old, her family was resettled in Stone Mountain, Georgia. There, a local church welcomed them and guided them through their early days of life in the U.S.
Now, she helps newly arrived refugees settle in to their new homes.
She says she’s excited to attend the training and advocacy event:
I’m hoping I can learn more about advocating for refugees and develop skills in keeping communities together. I want to empower refugee communities to advocate for themselves and strengthen their communities.
We’re very appreciated of LSG for lifting up Aimee’s success and LIRS’s event. To learn more about how we are celebrating our 75th anniversary and the courage of migrants and refugees, click here.