This World Refugee Day, we are reaching back in history and taking inspiration from seven extraordinary individuals, among many over the years, who have stood with refugees. They have shown that progress is possible, even when the odds can feel too great to overcome.

Go inside an IRC clinic in Mogadishu that treats children for acute malnutrition and supports mothers facing the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crisis in Afghanistan has shocked the world. The situation for women and girls appears dire, and their access to education is at risk.

Such steep cuts send a clear message to the world’s most vulnerable people: you are not welcome in America, and America will not help you where you are. 

After a peace agreement failed to unite South Sudan last July, fighting quickly spread to previously unaffected areas. That’s when the war forced Angelina and her children to flee into the swamps, where food and clean water were scarce. 

From major cities to remote villages, women and girls worldwide face harassment, violence, discrimination and a lack of equal opportunities. These are the toughest places to be a woman today, according to IRC experts.

An Iraqi family exemplifies the true spirit of the season and celebrates with the help of the IRC. “It is great to be home for the holidays." says Linda Abid Younis, who lives in Telskof, a town north of Mosul that was retaken from ISIS.