ECAR Gala Event Story - Threads of Hope

Thursday night, October 23rd, Every Campus a Refuge (ECAR) held an event at Clemson to highlight refugee stories in our community. Bobbie Mahboba, with Lutheran Services Carolinas, spoke introducing the Threads of Hope ministry of Refugee Hope Upstate. Her beautiful story is as follows:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A question many of us were asked over and over again.

We dreamed of becoming teachers, doctors, pilots, artists — because we were told, you can be anything you want to be.

But imagine — imagine never being asked that question.

You were born in a valley surrounded by mountains, far from here — in Afghanistan

You remember hearing that question asked to your brothers,

but never to you.

Because you were expected to become your mother —

who became her mother before her —

and so, you did.

But it was different for your daughter.

She went to school.

She graduated from high school.

You asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up,

and you told her, you can become anything you want.

And then — the world changed again.

The Taliban returned.

Girls were banned from school, from work, from dreaming.

This time, you could not endure.

You left everything familiar — your mountains, your family, your friends —

for the hope of a better future for your children.

You took the hard road of immigration.

It was not easy.

But you made it.

You arrived in a land that is safe, kind, and free —

but also different.

Different language.

Different culture.

Different weather.

Different expectations.

You were told that you must work.

You wanted to.

But every door seemed to close:

you didn’t speak English,

you didn’t know how to read or write,

and you didn’t know how to navigate this modern world.

Still, you told yourself: I will not give up.

You remembered — you were never “nothing.”

You had built a home.

You had raised a family.

You had served your loved ones with skill, patience, and grace.

So, you decided to serve your new community in the way you knew best —

with your hands, your heart, and your craft.

You took the threads of hope from your mountain,

and you stretched them across the ocean,

weaving a new story.

You began to make things again —

embroidered bags, handmade dresses, crocheted scarves, woven beauty.

You became what you were always meant to be —

a maker.

And today, as we celebrate these creations —

these stitches, these colors, these dreams —

we are not just admiring the work of the hand.

We are honoring the strength of the spirit,

the courage of women who lost everything,

and yet, somehow, made something beautiful again.”