Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

health & fitness

#Run4Refugees Day 2: Two more reasons I’m running

Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 2020, I’m logging 20 miles on foot (as much running as I can manage) in support of CWS and their #Run4Refugees campaign. As I complete the miles, I’m sharing the reasons I’m running. If you missed Day 1, you can catch up here.

I covered two more miles today, so here are two more reasons.

5. Generally I run for my mental health as much as for my physical health. When I came home from work today, I was overwhelmed and anxious. This doesn’t always lead to a good run, and it’s hotter than I want it to be in the last week of September. When stressful situations and anxiety overwhelm me, I run. How does that help refugees? Well, the money I’m raising (and that you’re contributing) takes care of some things that cause stress for refugee families such as health care, hot meals and a welcoming dinner when a family resettles in the United States. When basic needs are met, stress and anxiety ease. I know this from experience. It is no different for refugee families, except that their stressors are not ones I’ve ever experienced on that scale.

6. By October 1 of each year, the president must set the ceiling for the number of refugees that can be admitted to the U.S. For fiscal year 2020, that number was 18,000, the lowest it has been in almost 40 years. Compare that to the number of refugees worldwide: 26 million. Globally, less than 1 percent of refugees have been resettled in 37 countries. (Source: National Immigration Forum.) Another comparison, in fiscal year 2016, the U.S. set the cap at 85,000 refugees. Please understand that this is the maximum number of refugees who can be resettled. The U.S. does not have to meet that number.

For a country that likes to tout itself as a “land of opportunity,” we have too often limited who is afforded those opportunities. I’m running to remind us that much is required of those who have been given much. (We could have another entire discussion about this, but for now, I’ll leave it at this.)

If you want to support my quest, you can give a monetary donation here. While I have surpassed my initial fundraising goal, I would love to continue surpassing it. (I set the goal low on purpose because I like to hit the mark, and I was insecure about my ability to fundraise.) And I’ve heard that right now donations are being matched at 100 percent, so if you’re on the fence about giving, why not do it now?

Keep checking in to read more reasons as I complete more miles.

#Run4Refugees Day 1 (or why I’m covering 20 miles on foot this week)

From now until Saturday, my goal is to cover 20 miles on foot. I’m not journeying anywhere. I’ll be running and walking circles in my extended neighborhood. If you know me at all, you know that I’ve been running regularly for years. But this is no casual hobby this week.

Why am I doing this?

I’m raising money for CWS, a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. Specifically, I’m aiding their #Run4Refugees campaign. While I’m covering these miles, I’m asking people to considering donating to CWS’ work in supporting refugees.

This is a cause and an organization I’ve supported for years, but it’s been a while since I talked about it. So, as I cover the miles this week, I’ll be sharing some reasons that I took on this challenge.

Today, I logged 4 miles, so here are 4 reasons. (I’ll share one for each mile I complete.)

Before I started today’s run. The humidity was brutal but not enough to stop me.
  1. Refugees are people. Maybe that sounds obvious, but what I really mean is that they are living, breathing human beings, not some abstract “issue” out there in the big, wide world. For years, I had the opportunity to meet refugees as they resettled in Lancaster, and every interaction reminded me that the “refugee crisis” I read about in the news or heard about on television was about real human beings. I have names and faces and conversations embedded in my heart and mind of people who made the “refugee crisis” real to me.
  2. Twenty miles is a distance that feels almost impossible. Maybe insurmountable. And it’s equal to the number of years some refugees spend in camps–in limbo between the home they fled and a country that will receive them. Twenty years of not knowing where or when or how your family will get by or thrive. I want to feel the weight of that number in my body.
  3. It’s something I can do. Often when presented with a big, global problem, we throw up our hands and wonder, “What can I do?” Will my running 20 miles in one week solve the refugee crisis? Nope. But it will provide much-needed funds and awareness for an issue that’s easy to dismiss because it’s “too big.” Can your donation solve the refugee crisis? No. But it could provide a health center visit for a family with a sick member or provide a meal for a family on their first night in the United States. You can donate here to help me reach and surpass my fundraising goal.
  4. Refugees are resilient. Because humans are resilient. I don’t believe refugees are some sort of special breed of human able to withstand more suffering than others. They keep going because humans have an unwavering will to survive. I set a goal to run 20 miles in one week, and these first four miles were tough. The humidity and my lack of hydration had me seeing white spots when I got home. I know I’m going to end up walking some of these miles. Maybe more than I want to. But the point is to keep going. Because humanity finds a way to survive.

Check back in throughout the week for more reasons I’m running 20 miles this week. And if you’re willing and able, please donate! Thank you!