Safed House, a 501 c-3 non-profit that provides a welcoming place for refugees and immigrants to share their stories in a culturally sensitive context, will present compelling video accounts for the winners of the 2018 essay contest on Wednesday November 7 at 6 pm. The ceremony celebration will be held at Alhambra High School, located at 3839 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85019.

Safed House will portray the journey of Alaa Alothman, first place winner, escaping Aleppo, Syria, enduring life in a Jordanian refugee camp, experiencing prejudice and isolation in Jordan, meeting influential teacher advocates there, finally moving to Phoenix to finish high school, once again meeting supportive teacher advocates who taught her English and gave her the strength to survive the transition to life in America.  She now is a Freshman at Phoenix College, studying to become a teacher to give back to her fellow refugees.

Poung Change, a Myanmar refugee, shares how his whole family left Myanmar for a refugee camp in Thailand, where they lived for nine years, and survived the difficulty of political oppression. He tells the pain of leaving his grandmother in the refugee camp when he and his mother were chosen by the UN to move to the US, first Indianapolis then to Phoenix.  He shares how the language barrier challenged him along the way and how he learned to cope with the struggle and now happily recounts his new life in America.

Four of the six winners attend Alhambra High School including Poung, Alaa (former student there), runner up – Prashna Rai (from Nepal) and honorable mention Christine Nyamurigerwa (from Burundi).

“We are thrilled that so many Alhambra students ranked high in the Safed House essay contest,” says Principal Karen Cardenas, Alhambra High School. “It’s a pleasure to partner with Safed House to host this important event.”

Please see more info on our website here: https://www.safedhouse.com