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A new home and a dream come true for a refugee family in Arizona

American Dream

  • Hai Doo (in gray sweater), his wife Paw Sen and their children take a break from moving in. They were the 200th family to realize the American dream under a home buying program for refugees begun in 2001 by the IRC’s Phoenix office. (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • Cassandra Doo (3) and Eh Thayou Paw (7) have fun in their parents’ room in the new house. (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • Eh Thayou Paw (7), Yu Eh Paw (10) and Ta How Paw (14) hang out in their own room. (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • Eh Thayou Paw (7) (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • Paw Hay Wah (5, front) and Serr Nay Paw (9) (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • Cassandra Doo (3) (Photo: Loren Anderson)
  • The family proudly poses for a group portrait in front of the house. “When I was living in the refugee camp, I didn’t think it would be possible to have a home again,” says new homeowner Hai Doo. “Now I feel like my dream has come true.” (Photo: Loren Anderson)
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A Burmese refugee family who resettled in Phoenix in 2006 moves into their new home, purchased under an IRC home buying program.

Photos by Loren Anderson

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The Hai Doo family proudly stands in front of their first home in their new country on October 7, 2010. Hai Doo (center row, first from right) was the 200th refugee to purchase a home through IRC's Home Buying Program in Phoenix. (Photo: Loren Anderson)
Hai Doo (seated at right) and his family pose for a group portait in front of their new home in Phoenix.
Photo: Loren Anderson

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A Burmese refugee family who resettled in Phoenix in 2006 has received the keys to their new home, becoming the 200th family to realize the American dream under a home buying program for refugees begun in 2001 by the International Rescue Committee’s Phoenix office.

The program is made possible through partnerships with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. Participants receive credit counseling, take classes in budgeting and banking, and participate in workshops on how to purchase a home. 

“When I was living in the refugee camp, I didn’t think it would be possible to have a home again,” said new homeowner Hai Doo. “Now I feel like my dream has come true.”

Learn More

Resettling refugees in a new home:  The IRC enables refugees who are admitted to the United States to establish new lives and become self-sufficient, productive citizens who add to the vitality and promise of the nation.