Micha Tejeda, a student whose family managed to escape from El Salvador during the civil war in the 1980s. Her parents were peasants that were tortured by local government soldiers.
The fact that they’re alive today is a miracle.
Stories like Micha’s have moved people to begin volunteering at Proyecto Adelante, a nonprofit agency that provides counseling services to people seeking asylum in the United States, as well as legal assistance.
Patricia Warden is one of these very people. Warden, a Government teacher, has taught at this school for the past 19 years. She and her husband have a 13-year-old daughter, Sarah.
For the past four years, Patricia Warden has worked with a group of volunteer counselors at Proyecto Adelante to provide counseling …show more content…
They need counseling because they have been victims of torture in their home countries. Those who have not been tortured themselves have had a relative or friend tortured, and it’s deeply affected them. Even though they’ve survived, they need help dealing with the past,” says Warden.
An estimated 20 percent of all immigrants coming into the United States are survivors of torture.
Proyecto Adelante provides the help, counseling, and legal support that these survivors and immigrants need, with centers spread all across the country. These centers undergo tremendous success — one of these centers has treated nearly 1,000 victims since it opened five years ago.
Oliver Matthews, a local immigration lawyer that works alongside Warden, has worked at Proyecto Adelante for five years.
When prompted to speak on one of his clients stories, Matthews said: “She was a beautiful woman from Somalia. Four years ago, during the height of the civil war, she was raped and beaten in front of her family after they were forced from their home in Mogadishu. Her husband was taken outside and shot. She escaped to Kenya and eventually came here, but her three children remain at a Kenyan refugee
The fact that they’re alive today is a miracle.
Stories like Micha’s have moved people to begin volunteering at Proyecto Adelante, a nonprofit agency that provides counseling services to people seeking asylum in the United States, as well as legal assistance.
Patricia Warden is one of these very people. Warden, a Government teacher, has taught at this school for the past 19 years. She and her husband have a 13-year-old daughter, Sarah.
For the past four years, Patricia Warden has worked with a group of volunteer counselors at Proyecto Adelante to provide counseling …show more content…
They need counseling because they have been victims of torture in their home countries. Those who have not been tortured themselves have had a relative or friend tortured, and it’s deeply affected them. Even though they’ve survived, they need help dealing with the past,” says Warden.
An estimated 20 percent of all immigrants coming into the United States are survivors of torture.
Proyecto Adelante provides the help, counseling, and legal support that these survivors and immigrants need, with centers spread all across the country. These centers undergo tremendous success — one of these centers has treated nearly 1,000 victims since it opened five years ago.
Oliver Matthews, a local immigration lawyer that works alongside Warden, has worked at Proyecto Adelante for five years.
When prompted to speak on one of his clients stories, Matthews said: “She was a beautiful woman from Somalia. Four years ago, during the height of the civil war, she was raped and beaten in front of her family after they were forced from their home in Mogadishu. Her husband was taken outside and shot. She escaped to Kenya and eventually came here, but her three children remain at a Kenyan refugee