Lena Contor grew up in Ukraine and moved to Pocatello, Idaho, after getting married. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lena was presented with an opportunity to go back on a humanitarian relief trip. Her first thought was, “Who am I to do anything? I’m not rich. I’m not powerful.” But she couldn’t push the thought out of her mind, and she took the leap.

She is now getting ready to go on her 10th trip back to Ukraine, and she has rallied the Pocatello community to fund solar panels that will power running water for devasted communities. Lena shows how overcoming self-doubt and thoughts of insignificance – and stepping up to do what we can in the moment – can have powerful ripple effects.

Fredrick Shema grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda before resettling in Boise with his ‎family in 2012 as a high school student. In college, he was able to go back to the camp ‎where he grew up for a research project, reconnecting with friends still living ‎there.

Through this experience and working with Boise youth from refugee backgrounds, ‎Fredrick set his sights on becoming an attorney – wanting to make a tangible difference in ‎people’s lives. After earning his law degree this spring, Fredrick sat down with Mosaics to ‎share about his life, what he’s learned, and how he found his ‘why.’‎

Razma and Hasina are sisters who resettled in Idaho with their family in 2022. Razma is continuing her education at Boise State, where she is majoring in computer science, and Hasina is a senior in high school. They are pursuing dreams of education and future careers that would not be possible for them under new rules in Afghanistan banning girls and women from school and work opportunities and even leaving the house without a male escort.

The sisters are sharing their stories because they care deeply about advocating for Afghan women and girls. Their voices offer hope and encouragement to others facing hardships. Their journey hasn’t been easy, but they have learned to stay determined and work toward making a difference for themselves and for others.

National Update: Also in this episode is an update on the recent changes to refugee admissions to the United States. A presidential executive order issued on Jan. 20 suspends the arrival of refugees into the U.S. for at least 90 days, at which point it will again be under review by the president. The pause creates painful delays for refugees who have been approved for resettlement or who were about to reunite with their families after years of separation. The order does not impact the status of those who have already arrived, and the Idaho Office for Refugees and local resettlement agencies in Idaho are continuing our work to support them. Please share Mosaics and your support for resettlement with your networks to show that Americans care about our heritage of being a nation of hope, welcome, and freedom.

Immigration attorney Chris Christensen provides insight into where we’ve been and what we might expect in the U.S. immigration system in the year ahead.

“I think it’s important for immigrants to understand that regardless of their legal status, that they have rights in this great country,” he said.

In this episode, Chris shares valuable Know Your Rights information and practical steps people can take to reduce their risk if they are undocumented or have temporary immigration status.

“The government doesn’t have the funds, the resources, to remove (every undocumented resident),” Chris said, “and I think most of society would agree that it doesn’t make sense to deport the hardworking farmworker who has no criminal record and who has a family full of U.S. citizen children, who pays taxes and contributes, who goes to the local church every Sunday.”

Chris founded Christensen Legal PLLC in December 2017 so that he could continue serving the ‎immigrant community in Idaho and beyond. A Caldwell native and graduate of ‎Caldwell High School, Chris always had a passion for Spanish and started learning early. ‎From 2013-2015 he directed the Migrant Farmworker Law Center ‎at Indiana Legal Services, visiting labor camps in Indiana and talking to ‎migrant field workers about their rights, housing, pay, taxes, immigration options, and more.‎

Chris said, “It is that human connection, the life-altering impact that I can have to better somebody’s life, that keeps me doing this.”