Voice Of Refugees

Our Mission is to put God’s love into action by helping refugee families stabilize, integrate, and thrive in the United States through practical support, relational outreach, and mobilized church community.

Voice of Refugees, Inc. (VOR) is a grassroots faith-based Charity, a 501(c)3 non-profit, founded by three passionate individuals who were immigrants in the US. VOR started in a home garage collecting donated furniture and helping neighboring refugees. With an anticipated increase in immigration, VOR expanded its services to help refugees beyond the basic needs of survival, but also equipping them to integrate and thrive in their new home.

Hope serves as the ultimate anchor when one faces loss and upheaval in life. VOR stands as this beacon of hope for numerous displaced families in Orange County and beyond. In the past year, we extended our support to 109 new refugee families, through helping them navigate through the complex systems of life, knowing their rights and responsibilities. We are grateful for the successful integration of these families into the community, with 37 individuals obtaining their driving licenses, 125 children receiving school backpacks, 68 children and youth participating in our summer camps, and 54 women graduating from our ESL program.

Our goals for next year are to prioritize women and children, implementing empowering programs to facilitate mothers' inclusion in the workplace and enable them to utilize their talents to benefit their community. Additionally, we aspire to assist children in developing their character by fostering emotional awareness, exploring career paths, and making informed, healthy decisions.

To better serve refugee individuals and families, VOR has identified several pressing needs:

Our primary need for 2026 is to enhance the capacity of our programs through acquiring equipment, supplies, and covering transportation expenses. We need to create an ongoing support for youth who lack the orientation and feel lost and disoriented.

Another urgent need is to support the family of the children and youth with basics such as food, furniture, and transportation. Once those basic services are provided, the family will be stabilized and ready to engage in programs, events, and training. Children and youth summer programs play a crucial role in helping families stabilize because it alleviates trauma and move them from isolation to community.

Our aim is to expand these programs to cater to children facing certain challenges and special needs to create an inclusive program that aids in their healing from the resettlement trauma. Additionally, many youth feel isolated and require professional programs and curricula that help them integrate in their new communities.

We provide assistance to an estimated 400 refugee families on a monthly basis through our diverse range of services. We serve families all over Southern California, mainly in Orange County, Inland Empire (new expansion) and some in Los Angeles County through online support.

As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 110 Million Displaced People around the world - 62.5 Million are internally displaced, 36.4 Million are refugees outside their native countries, and 6.1 Million are asylum-seekers whom I am a part of. In the past decade, the global refugee crisis has more than doubles in scope, which means that more than 1.2% of our global population have been forced to leave their homes.

As someone who sought asylum myself, I intimately understand the profound pain and anguish of being forcibly separated from one's family, community, and cultural roots. While I may not fully identify with refugees who possess a homeland, I can empathize deeply, having lived as a stateless refugee for the entirety of my life before fleeing to the United States in search of asylum, escaping persecution and violence against individuals like myself.

Today, I see my role as one who brings hope to refugees and asylum-seekers, fueled by a profound sense of love. I firmly believe that there is no better foundation for building strong, inclusive communities than by embracing refugees and extending to them the same love and acceptance as citizens of this country. By acknowledging the plight of refugees, we not only amplify their voices, allowing them to share their stories of pain and struggle, but also infuse them with hope for a brighter future. My vision is to live in a world where refugees are not merely tolerated, but celebrated and embraced with open arms; and I firmly believe that love is the key to achieving this.

Chris Khoury
Executive Director

My passion, along with that of all VOR founders, stems from our own families' experiences of loss and the challenges we faced in establishing and integrating into life in the USA. Despite encountering barriers, we were fortunate to have resources that many newcomers to the USA lack, allowing our families to eventually thrive. Recognizing the profound toll that war, oppression, and persecution take on refugee families, particularly the sudden and complete loss they endure, we were compelled to make a difference. Thus, we began by providing essential household items and furniture to refugees.

As we grew closer to the refugee community, our understanding of the diverse and complex challenges they faced expanded. Consequently, we resolved to broaden our services to meet their evolving needs.

Over the past decade, we have assisted hundreds of refugee and asylum-seeking families in finding hope and establishing themselves in America, embracing its ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We invite you to seize this exceptional opportunity to support those who, despite being in the USA for a year or more, still grapple with feelings of hopelessness. Your donation will enable us to extend opportunities for empowerment and improvement in their lives.

Nazareth Rizkallah
Board President