GRADUATION MARKS MILESTONE FOR BOSNIAN MOM, DAUGHTER
Like most parents of the Class of 2020, Belma Denic looked forward to attending her daughter’s upcoming high school graduation from Hardin Valley Academy—and worried that the COVID-19 outbreak might mar those plans. For Belma, a refugee from Bosnia who resettled in Knoxville when she was 18, attending the graduation holds particular significance. “It will… Continue Reading
COVID IMPACTS MOST VULNERABLE CLIENTS
With soaring unemployment rates and taxed health care systems across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged everyone in unprecedented and unexpected ways. But the coronavirus outbreak has highlighted how much more vulnerable refugees are during a global crisis. “It’s definitely had an impact,” Bridge Program Manager Katie Weber said of the pandemic’s disruption of… Continue Reading
IN CHATTANOOGA, TORNADO COLLIDES WITH COVID CRISIS
The tornado that ripped through Chattanooga on Easter Sunday night came with no warning. “It happened at midnight,” said Marina Peshterianu, associate director of Bridge’s Chattanooga office. “The majority of people were asleep.” She and her husband rushed to a downstairs bathroom to take refuge, listening to howling winds and crashing trees outside her home…. Continue Reading
CELEBRATING OUR CHATTANOOGA PARTNERS
“Volunteers of the Year:” Vicki Suttle and Marsha Gentry! Vicki and Marsha have been Bridge volunteers since 2018, and together they lead the Hixson Presbyterian Church Community Assistance Team (CAT), which has co-sponsored FOUR refugee families from Burundi, Colombia and Sudan. They truly go above and beyond as volunteers to build trust and form close relationships with… Continue Reading
CELEBRATING OUR KNOXVILLE PARTNERS
There is not a more invested and dedicated church partner than Two Rivers Church. Their Community Assistance Team (CAT) welcomed a young man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September, showing him how to cook, helping furnish his apartment, assisting him in opening a bank account, and inviting him to take part in Thanksgiving… Continue Reading
BRIDGE CONTINUES SERVICES, SPREADS HOPE DURING PANDEMIC
As the COVID-19 virus has spread globally, Bridge Refugee Services’ leaders have taken their mission to promote hope to heart in East Tennessee. “Our whole team is working collaboratively to help people cope,” said Bridge Executive Director Drocella Mugorowera. “This is a time of action, reflection, compassion, helping one another, sending messages of love and… Continue Reading
UNLIKELY CROSSING: REFUGEE AND FRIEND REUNITE IN CHATTANOOGA
When Sudanese refugee Marwah Kuku learned in 2019 she was going to be resettled in Chattanooga, she had never heard of the city. At the time, she was living in Amman, Jordan, and working for the global humanitarian organization World Relief to serve other refugees from various countries. “I did not know where this is,”… Continue Reading
COUPLE SUPPORTS BRIDGE REFUGEES WITH TAX SAVINGS
When the federal tax overhaul was passed in 2017, Kevin and Courtney Brown made a decision. Although the new policy put more money in their pockets at the end of the year, they saw that it cost lower-income families more. So, instead of buying a new TV or going on vacation, the couple decided to… Continue Reading
CONGOLESE STUDENT EXCELS AT STEM
As a rookie member of the school’s Robotics team, the STEMpunks, Phillip cheered on the team’s robot, Rosetta, a.k.a. Rosie, as it completed a series of challenges during the fair’s Robotics competition. “He was hands-on, jumped in and stayed in the pit to fix the robot and work with the other STEMpunks,” said Nick Sirek,… Continue Reading
FORMER BOSNIAN REFUGEE ‘PAYS IT FORWARD’
Last Christmas, Olivera Dessieux delivered nearly 300 backpacks stuffed with school supplies to children served by Bridge Refugee Services and a Knoxville elementary school. This holiday season, the former Bridge client organized another community donation drive aimed at giving children entering the foster-care system a new duffel bag to carry hygiene products and other items so they won’t… Continue Reading