Raziye knows what it feels like to live without a place to call home.

Born in Iran to Afghan refugee parents, she grew up feeling like an outsider. Though Iran was the only country she had ever known, she and her family were never fully accepted — never felt they fully belonged.

“That’s why I call myself Afghan,” Raziye says, even though she has never stepped foot in Afghanistan. “It fills the emptiness I feel.”

After spending her childhood in Iran, Raziye left for Turkey to study to become a nurse. Again an outsider, but this time it was on her terms in search of a better life.

In 2022, she and her family came to the U.S. where Catholic Charities of Louisville welcomed them as newly arrived refugees.

Raziye still remembers the first moment they entered their apartment. After years of uncertainty and fear, they found something unexpected waiting for them: a sunflower sitting in a vase on the kitchen table.

“It showed me that someone cared,” she said. “Someone wanted us to feel welcome.”

Like many refugees, Raziye faced enormous challenges adjusting to life in America. Learning English was one of the most difficult. Though it was her third language, not speaking fluently made finding work difficult and shook her confidence.

But Catholic Charities walked beside her during that difficult season.

Raziye was given an internship with Catholic Charities’ Refugee Services team, where she was encouraged, supported, and given the opportunity to grow. Day by day, her English improved. Slowly, her confidence returned.

Today, the woman who once arrived as a refugee now serves others as an employee of Catholic Charities — helping families find jobs so they can live independent, self-sufficient lives. She is also continuing to pursue her education and her dream of a career in healthcare.

And while she still sometimes feels like an outsider, Louisville — and Catholic Charities —have given her something she had rarely experienced before: the feeling of being welcomed.

When asked what advice she would give someone meeting a refugee for the first time, her answer is beautifully simple:

“Smile,” she says. “Smile and a sunflower.”