Imagine leaving everything behind—your home, your possessions, your sense of security—and arriving in an unfamiliar country with nothing but hope and the will to survive. This was the reality for four refugees who found themselves grappling with the challenges of starting over.

In Kabul, a gym owner’s mission was simple, yet radical for his surroundings: to create a space where both men and women could exercise freely. But under the Taliban’s regime, this act of defiance came at a steep cost. When the gym was shut down, his life’s work was erased, and he was forced into exile with little more than his principles intact.

For one refugee woman, her new life in the United States was defined by silence and loneliness. Unable to speak English and unfamiliar with her surroundings, she spent her days in isolation, disconnected from her community and unsure of her place in this new world. But through Gii’s sewing collective, her silence gave way to expression, her isolation to connection.

A young refugee boy stepped into an American classroom for the first time, burdened by unfamiliar sounds and unspoken expectations. He struggled to keep up, his potential obscured by the weight of his displacement. With the guidance of Gii’s tutors, he found not just tools for learning but an anchor in a sea of uncertainty.