“We are in the unique position to influence the church, employers and government agencies to warmly welcome refugee families and put them on the path to a new life.”
—Cal Uomoto
Western Washington Director
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Who We Serve
A refugee is officially defined by the UNHCR (The United Nations High Commission for Refugees) as a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality.”
At World Relief we define refugees as some of the most vulnerable among us. Refugees from across the globe arrive with few belongings, a difficult past, and high hopes for the future. As they walk off of the plane at Sea-Tac Airport they begin a very difficult journey of cross-cultural adaptation. Refugees leave behind everything they know—even their own family—with the hope of finding safety and a chance for a new start here in the United States
Who We Are
Serving the World in our Neighborhood
World Relief works with the local Church, the community, the U.S. Department of State and other NGOs to help refugees begin new lives in the Puget Sound area. Our goal is to empower and aid refugees in their journey of building a new life.
We welcomed more than 700 refugees to Seattle in the past year from countries as diverse as Burma, Iraq, Bhutan and Eritrea. The refugees we resettle are invited by the U.S. Department of State and have both a social security card and work authorization. Our role is to provide support and basic orientation for their first few months of transition.
What we do:
- Greet them at the Airport
- Set up their homes
- Help them learn English through ESL classes
- Provide job training and placement
- Connect them to vital social services
We rely on partnership with hundreds of volunteers, local Churches, and community organizations to further our social service work and provide additional support to refugees. We seek to empower our partners to welcome the stranger and meet both spiritual and physical needs by inviting refugees into their lives and communities.
Our Mission
World Relief Seattle has met the physical and spiritual needs of refugees since 1979. Our mission is to empower the Church to serve the most vulnerable. Our vision is to see refugees become fully-functioning, integrated, and vibrant participants in society by helping them conquer the many hurdles along that path.
Our History
In 1979 World Relief Seattle was founded to care for refugees fleeing the war in Southeast Asia. We have since grown to resettle refugees from over 25 countries. Throughout our 30 years of service we have impacted the lives of 28,000 refugees and immigrants.
In the past ten years, the refugee groups that have come through our office doors were from:
| The former Soviet Union |
Burma |
| Bhutan |
Kosovo |
| Bosnia |
Afghanistan |
| Somalia |
Sierra Leone |
| Iraq |
Vietnam |
| Sudan |
Congo |
| Iran |
Burundi |
| Liberia |
Eritrea |
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Ethiopia |
Many staff members at World Relief Seattle are former refugees…
Including four of our eight managers! |
