I often get asked, “Vernon, why do you keep traveling back to refugee camps on the Syrian border?” For me, the answer is simple. Because ISIS has not yet been completely defeated. Because these refugees still can’t return home. And because they and their loves ones...
When I was 12 years old, all I wanted was a pair of jeans from a certain popular store. That was what the cool kids were wearing, and like most pre-teens, I desperately wanted to be cool. I believed wholeheartedly those jeans were the key to elevating my social...
“People come and go, promising to help,” Tariq said. But that help rarely comes.I met Tariq this week in a refugee camp, where his family is struggling to survive. I’ve changed his name to protect him. They receive a stipend of just $15 per month — an impossibly small...
Almost a year ago to the date, I was huddled in a tent with refugees I had met on the Syrian border. Today, I’m back again … and I’m still just as overwhelmed by the stories I hear and the needs I see. I’m more convinced than ever before that we — as the body of...
Freezing to death is probably not something you’ve ever had to worry about. But it’s a very real threat for refugees living in northern Iraq and Syria.Refugee families are counting down the days until the temperature drops and the freezing winds blow. They aren’t...
