Artisan Profile - Rasha

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Refugees twice over. Rasha was born in the country of Syria. She met her husband through family and they left Syria in 2015 because of the war. Rasha was 21 when she left home. She and her husband traveled to Turkey by boat. “Turkey life hard, but step by step my husband found work.” 

While in Turkey, Rasha had her two sons Ahmad and Amir. Ahmad, who is the oldest son, was struggling with weight gain and was crying all day long. After special tests were conducted at the hospital in Turkey when Ahmad was 5 months old, they found out he had a rare protein allergy.

Rasha struggled to find special formula for her son. Her son would be in and out of the hospital all the time because of his reaction to the protein. 

In 2024, through the UN, Rasha and her family were resettled in California. When they found out that her father had a family friend in St Louis they decided to move here in January of 2025. Their travels to St Louis from California are crazy and a good story for another time. 

Now that Rasha and her family are settled in St Louis, life has gotten better. “Life is better for Ahmad in America. His health is better. I can get food paid for by the insurance. Special food is much easier to find here.” Rasha told us that the Nutritionist at the hospital has helped the family find the food they need for Ahmad. 

Rasha is very thankful for her job with Forai. Rasha said, “I love the job, making jewelry. I like the people, practice in English. I would like Forai to help me with going to university one day.”