At the core of our Alight values is the belief in the sacredness of each human being. We believe to be human is to be wondrous. And we believe that each of us comes into the world with a gift. And it is in the giving of that gift that we and our communities become whole. On Monday, the 25th of May George Floyd was killed by police, and we as a community lost a gift. And a family lost someone they loved. To George Floyd’s family, friends, and neighbors we offer our sadness and our grief. You suffer this loss and injustice deeply. We wish you strength, resilience, and hopefully one day a measure of peace. As an organization we live and work in places experiencing violence. Places shaken by war, disaster, and terrible conflict. We know something of what it is like to live with brutality. And we have learned the value of leaning on community. We rely on each other. We work with refugees, in fact many of us are refugees, and stand with each other every day. We do the doable, … [Read more...] about Coming Together For George
Archives for May 2020
Choose Optimism
It’s one of our guiding values that unites us, even – and especially – in difficult times At Alight, our seven values guide everything we do. They act as sign posts, driving how we work and how we interact with all we serve. They hold us to our promise to be the sort of humanitarian organization we want to be – and that refugees and displaced people deserve. … [Read more...] about Choose Optimism
A Place to Call Home
Today our COVID-19 response brings us to the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda. We will be dealing with an important issue: housing. The new arrivals at the Nakivale reception center all stay in providing group shelters but due to social distancing rules, they were kicked out of their temporary houses and left with no one to go. Our staff saw this and knew that we could not leave them out on their own and with no houses, so they got right to work! They quickly began construction of houses for these families to move into and have a place to call home. Thanks to the quick work of our staff, the houses were finished in not time! “There was too much crowding at the reception center which couldn’t allow us to observe the social distancing, I am so happy for having this house that Alight has constructed for me. Asante saana Alight," said Mr. Nsanzamukiza Augustin, one of the owners of his new house. This change made possible by Tradition Capital Bank. … [Read more...] about A Place to Call Home
Stopping the Spread of Coronavirus in Southeast Asia
Teams coming together on both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border... Our work in Thailand and Myanmar is defined by support to people on the move between the two countries. More than two million migrants travel back and forth between them regularly, looking for work and better ways to support their families. And thousands of refugees from Myanmar are still living in camps in Thailand, mostly along the border, although many have returned home and adjust to new lives there. Thailand is where Alight’s story began 40 years ago. Now, our work has evolved to support the new challenges people are facing in the region – and it’s still evolving as teams mobilize to confront the threat of COVID-19. … [Read more...] about Stopping the Spread of Coronavirus in Southeast Asia
Community-Led Coronavirus Response in Nakivale Refugee Settlement
The people we serve have the best ideas for how to solve this... At Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee), community connection is at the heart of what we do. We believe that everyone has a gift to give. That we live in an abundant world, filled with amazing people who want to help. And that the people in the very communities we serve have the best ideas to change their world for the better. … [Read more...] about Community-Led Coronavirus Response in Nakivale Refugee Settlement