Neighbors, Not Enemies: Remembering Injustice and Resisting Its Return


Kimiko Hirota | November 13, 2025

In this powerful reflection, CWS’s Associate Director of Policy, Kimiko Hirota, recounts her experience at the 2025 Crystal City Pilgrimage, drawing connections between her family’s history and the renewed use of the Alien Enemies Act under the Trump administration. As immigrant communities face mass detention and deportation today, she calls on Americans to remember past injustices and resist their return …

From Earthquake to Hurricane: Resilience in Action for Communities in Haiti


After the 2021 earthquake devastated communities in Haiti, CWS partnered with local leaders to rebuild homes, schools and water systems with resilience at the core. Today, those same structures are providing shelter, safety and essential resources during Hurricane Melissa. While the storm damaged gardens, livestock and some infrastructure, the homes and cisterns built through community-led recovery efforts largely withstood the …

Empowering Asylees in New York: Monthly Benefit Orientations Launch Statewide 


CWS has launched monthly Asylee Benefit Orientations in partnership with New York stakeholders to provide newly granted asylees with timely, comprehensive support—including education, referral and access to critical services.   New Asylee Benefit Orientations for New Yorkers  Across the United States, fewer than 20% of newly granted asylees access Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) benefits and services within their first …

Rooted in Resilience: The Lasting Impact of CWS Recovery in Haiti


November 6, 2025

After Hurricane Matthew and the 2021 earthquake devastated communities in Haiti, CWS partnered with local leaders to rebuild and repair homes with resilience in mind. Today, those same homes are providing shelter and safety during Hurricane Melissa—proof that community-led recovery not only restores what was lost but builds lasting strength for the future.  CWS-constructed homes, built in the aftermath of …

A Garden of Hope: Ukrainian Refugee Women Transform Telenești


November 5, 2025

At the Diamond Day Center in Telenești, Moldova, CWS and its local partners bring together Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan families to create a supportive and healing community. The following testimony was written by Aneta, co-founder and pedagogue of the Diamond Day Center. From Vulnerability to Strength: Refugee Women Leading Change In a small town with big hearts—Telenești, Moldova—a story of …

Immigrant Children Are Under Attack: Urge Congress to Demand Safety and Due Process


November 4, 2025

Since January 2025, the Trump administration has pursued new policies and funding reforms that put immigrant children and their families in harm’s way. Many immigrant children arrive in the United States alone, seeking protection from persecution and violence after facing abuse, abandonment, neglect, or human trafficking. For decades, bipartisan efforts like the Trafficking Victims Prevention Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) have prevented …

Transformation Begins With Women: Vivian’s Story from West Pokot


Mary Catherine Hinds |

CWS Senior Director of Fundraising Strategy, Mary Catherine Hinds, shares her visit to Psirwo, Kenya, where women are transforming their community through water access, poultry farming and cooperative savings. From Water to Opportunity In early September 2025, I traveled to Psirwo in West Pokot, Kenya—where women are leading community transformation with support from CWS and our local partner, Yang’at. We …

Lessons from Jenga: One Child’s Journey Through Play


A simple game of Jenga helped one child open up about their experiences and seek healthy friendship. Every day, CWS celebrates the creative, patient work of building safety and hope for displaced children and their families.  At CWS, we use creative tools like games and art to help children—especially those impacted by displacement—share their stories and make sense of their …

A Ray of Hope for Rodica: Healing Begins with Community


Trigger warning: This story mentions disordered eating. At the Diamond Day Center in Telenesti, Moldova, CWS and its local partners bring together Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan families to build a supportive and healing community. The following is the testimony of Rodica’s mother, whose 10-year-old daughter participated in the summer camp for children in June 2025. Rodica and her mother are …

Season of Warmth: How CWS Helps Children Find Safety, Health and Hope


CWS is helping children and families build safer and brighter futures. As the weather turns colder, we reflect on how to build warmth—through support, protection and empowerment for children in the United States and around the world.  You can feel the rhythm of daily life changing as autumn settles across much of the United States. The air cools, the pace …