Saturday Newsletter: January 20, 2024

A note from Laura Moran

Dear Readers,

I hope this message finds you well and that you’re settling into the rhythm of the new year with renewed energy and focus for the year ahead. In that vein, I have some exciting Refugee Project news to share.

Firstly, I’m so excited to share that Caroline Gao, a member of the Stone Soup community and frequent participant in Refugee Project initiatives, won first place in the San Jose Library Fall into Fiction contest (10-12 age group) for her short story, titled "To My Penpal." As Caroline explains, her story was inspired by her participation in the Stone Soup Refugee Project pen pal exchange and Half-Baked Art Collaboration. Drawing inspiration from the handwritten letters she received from young people in Kakuma Refugee camp, and the subsequent independent research she conducted on the UNESCO website, Caroline constructed a fictionalized narrative of a refugee family’s life in Kakuma Camp, seeking to represent the unique writing style of the young people with whom she corresponded. Read Caroline’s story and share in our heartfelt congratulations on this fantastic achievement!

In other news, the Refugee Project is the recipient of the 2023 ruth weiss foundation School Poetry Award grant. In the words of the funding body:

“The poet ruth weiss was a child survivor of World War II and dedicated her entire life to raising awareness of the ramifications of war on children. Her poetry often expresses a child’s war trauma and the joy of being safe and free to grow as a child. This year’s poetry prompt focuses on the effects of war on children and what is good for children. We feel the work that your organization is doing is incredibly important and wish to support it.”

We are so honored to receive this award! To see some new Refugee Project writing, please check out the web page for our new Refugee Project collaborators, Humanitarian Service Team.

Thank you for your continued support of the Stone Soup Refugee Project—without it, collaborations such as those featured here would not be possible—and happy winter writing!

Yours sincerely,

The Stone Soup Refugee Project