Every year on World Refugee Day, new numbers indicate the volume of displaced people and the gravity of the protracted crisis and conflicts that cause displacement. It’s a day when the challenge of global displacement can seem too overwhelming to approach.

But, it’s also a day where we can celebrate our displaced brothers and sisters. A day when we can recognize their strength, resilience, talent, and provide hope that they can rebuild their lives.

JRS believes that refugees and displaced people deserve this hope and have a right to work, share their talents, and earn a living. In our work to accompany refugees around the world we seek to provide opportunities for refugees to fulfill their own potential and contribute to society. For this reason, we launched Pathfinder – a career incubator for refugees piloting in Kenya and Malawi. Through professional and vocational training, start-up support, career services and entrepreneurial guidance, we seek to create pathways to self-reliance for refugees so that they can become agents of positive change and social transformation.

Join us over the next month as we celebrate World Refugee Day, June 20, and what refugees can do with their own two hands. We’ll be sharing stories of refugees who have rebuilt their lives and contributed to their new homes, offering opportunities to learn more about what it takes to offer build a path forward for refugees, and giving you the ability to use your own two hands to help refugees not just survive to but thrive.

How can you use your own two hands?

• Join us in Washington, DC for a screening of Not Just Football followed by a panel discussion and reception. The panel will discuss the film, current status of global displacement, and how investing in refugee talent can help create a more sustainable future for those who are forcibly displaced. Click here to learn more and get your tickets.
• Bring the celebration to your own community! Host a screening of Not Just Football. Check out our resource guide.
• Learn more about our Livelihoods projects and how we promote dignity, confidence, hope and integration into local communities.
• Pray: Read Leo J. O’Donovan’s prayer for refugees and migrants.