Originally from Burundi, Vital was one of thousands of Burundians forced to flee in 1972. At 19 years old, he lived in a temporary center that hosted refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. He spent ten years in the DRC and continued his education despite the challenging circumstances.

On Feb. 15 President Trump declared a national emergency to build a wall on the southern border—distorting the record on people seeking asylum. We set the record straight.

One of the IRC’s goals in resettling refugees is to ensure that youth and adults have high levels of livelihood, literacy, numeracy and social-emotional skills. To that end, volunteers in NJ are currently facilitating English language instruction for refugees resettled in the Elizabeth area.

The IRC partners implemented the Resilience Expansion and Active Learning in Crisis (REAL) project in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan to provide Learning through Play (LtP) training and materials in setings impacted by extended COVID-19 school closures.

IRC San Jose is proud to be a member of the United Coalition for Immigrant Services, a partnership of 16 organizations providing free and low-cost immigration legal services in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Staff at the IRC in Silver Spring work to address the unique barriers faced by refugee students, while providing educators with the skills and knowledge to set youth up for academic success.

Take action to stop a new proposal by the Trump administration that would make it harder for nearly two-thirds of all immigrants to access the immigration system.