Bridging the hearts and minds of all people.
For All of Us
Building Peaceful Bridges is a nonprofit organization supporting people of all faiths whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of refugees into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing refugee populations through their stories.
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Latest from BPB
Kadjemba Family Success
We did it!
CONGRATULATIONS!
BPB Goal Reached: $6000 (5 months rental assistance)
The Kadjemba Family and BPB thank you all for assisting them to survive through the challenging months ahead. By facilitating their food supply and housing we have assisted in bridging the gap towards their empowerment.
Hunger, housing and joblessness are three of the greatest challenges facing newly arrived refugee families. Muki and Asha were working prior to the pandemic. Now, they are jobless and your kind contributions have helped provide the much needed support for their family of five.
Your support has reduced their anxiety of homelessness and provides them hope of beginning their life in America. Please read their story.
Muki and Asha’s next objective is returning to work and the children hope for continued online or in-person schooling.
Latest from Facebook
Our Book of the Month choice for August is A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell!
One of our favorites, this book portrays a personal journey through fear and the triumph of friendship. In the midst of an unfolding international crisis, renowned journalist Deborah Campbell finds herself swept up in the mysterious disappearance of Ahlam (yes, our Ahlam!), her guide and friend.
“The story begins in 2007 when Campbell travels undercover to Damascus to report on the exodus of Iraqis into Syria following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There she meets and hires Ahlam, a refugee working as a "fixer"--providing Western media with trustworthy information and contacts to help get the news out. Ahlam, who fled her home in Iraq after being kidnapped while running a humanitarian centre, not only supports her husband and two children through her work with foreign journalists but is setting up a makeshift school for displaced girls. She has become a charismatic, unofficial leader of the refugee community in Damascus, and Campbell is inspired by her determination to create something good amid so much suffering.”
Got recommendations for other inspiring books about refugees? Let us know in the comments!
Our Book of the Month choice for August is A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell!
One of our favorites, this book portrays a personal journey through fear and the triumph of friendship. In the midst of an unfolding international crisis, renowned journalist Deborah Campbell finds herself swept up in the mysterious disappearance of Ahlam (yes, our Ahlam!), her guide and friend.
“The story begins in 2007 when Campbell travels undercover to Damascus to report on the exodus of Iraqis into Syria following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There she meets and hires Ahlam, a refugee working as a "fixer"--providing Western media with trustworthy information and contacts to help get the news out. Ahlam, who fled her home in Iraq after being kidnapped while running a humanitarian centre, not only supports her husband and two children through her work with foreign journalists but is setting up a makeshift school for displaced girls. She has become a charismatic, unofficial leader of the refugee community in Damascus, and Campbell is inspired by her determination to create something good amid so much suffering.”
Got recommendations for other inspiring books about refugees? Let us know in the comments!
Volunteer
Build a Bridge through…
Mentoring and Sponsorship
Support a refugee family by meeting together monthly or bi-monthly, introducing them to life in America, engaging in conversations that improve their English, or assisting their study toward citizenship.
Bringing People Together
Form new and lasting friendships. Gather for monthly luncheons. Meet neighbors and refugees from around the world. Hear speakers address issues relevant to today’s refugees.
Giving Families a Head Start
Together with a refugee family create a new living space: donate clothing and furniture, assist with rent, groceries, and basic necessities, prepare a welcome box, or share cultural values and meals.
Cultural Educational Events
Join us for an event and hear the story of a refugee. Learn what it is like to navigate a new home in a foreign country through refugees’ stories. Listen, first hand, to a journalist’s experience in a refugee camp.
Upcoming Events
Stories
Ahlam al-Jebory Mahmood fled her home in Iraq after being kidnapped for her work running a humanitarian center near Baghdad during the war in Iraq. In 2008, she was a refugee in Syria working as a “fixer”–providing Western media with trustworthy information and contacts to help get the news out. She not only supported her husband and two children through her work with foreign journalists but set up a makeshift school for displaced girls. She was working as an unofficial leader of the refugee community in Damascus until she was arrested and imprisoned for her work. The story of her incredible journey from Baghdad to Damascus to Chicago is told in the multi-award-winning book A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell, now optioned for screen by Terry George, director of Hotel Rwanda. LEARN MORE.
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1400 Patriot Blvd | P.O. Box 535 | Glenview, IL 60026 | (847) 773-7484
Building Peaceful Bridges is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN: 83-2282738.
Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Up to 87% of funding goes directly to help refugee families.
Form 1023 including all attachments and Form 990 are made available to the public upon request.
