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Opinion: The U.S. resettlement system can’t handle 100,000 Ukrainian refugees

Luma Mufleh is the author of “Learning America: One Woman’s Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children” and the founder of Fugees Family, which aims to establish educational equity in refugee resettlement communities across the United States. [Read More]

The Power and Necessity of Learning from Books That Reflect Our Communities

In my work as the leader of the Fugees Academy, the school I started for children who are refugees, I’ve noticed that even with the best of intentions, there’s often this gap between what adults teach… and what students actually absorb.  [Read More]

MacKenzie Scott donates $10 million to Columbus-based refugee school system

A nonprofit school system for refugee children headquartered in Columbus is receiving a $10 million donation from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.  [Read More]

MacKenzie Scott donates $10 million to Clarkston refugee school system

A nonprofit school system for refugee and immigrant youth founded in Clarkston, a major hub for refugee resettlement, has received a $10 million giftfrom billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.  [Read More]

MacKenzie Scott gives school for refugee children $10 million gift

A nonprofit school system for refugee and immigrant children that’s headquartered in Columbus has received a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.  [Read More]

Smith Speaker Luma Mufleh is founder of the school for refugees

NORTHAMPTON — Luma Mufleh, who was shaped by her experience at her beloved alma mater, Smith College, and went on to found the refugee and immigrant education nonprofit Fugees Family, will be Smith’s commencement speaker this year.  [Read More]

The ‘Beautiful Game,’ Pomegranate Molasses, and Why There’s Hope for America

When I left mainstream journalism to launch The First Person, I knew the first person I wanted to have a conversation with was Luma Mufleh, the 42-year-old founder and CEO of Fugees Family, Inc.,   [Read More]

How Schools Can Support Refugee Families and Students

The indelible images of Afghans hanging onto the wings of American airplanes at Kabul Airport and Haitians being whipped while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river have ignited intense discussion among the American public about our responsibility to refugees and migrants and the racist history of our immigration policy  [Read More]

Changemakers: Luma Mufleh

The daughter and granddaughter of Syrian refugees, Luma grew up in Amman, Jordan, where she was one of the only Arab students in her class at an American school, and one of the only girls who played on her soccer team. As a young adult in a country where being gay was considered a crime  [Read More]

A group of student wearing masks smiling and holding Fugees water bottles

Opinion | Don’t let COVID undermine your child’s education

In the beginning, there was Nuru, whose name means “light.” She joined Fugees Academy, where 100% of our students are English language learners, in September 2019, not long after arriving in Columbus, Ohio, from her native Congo.  [Read More]

A group of student wearing masks smiling and holding Fugees water bottles

Refugees know all too well the fragility of democracy. That’s why Jan. 6 was a watershed moment: Luma Mufleh

COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Jan, 6, after a mob of rage-fueled supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, my phone started ringing. I run a nonprofit school network for refugees in Ohio and Georgia.  [Read More]

Students sitting at their desks in a semicircle with their hands riased

CNN’s Great Big Story: Fugees Family

Many young refugees arrive in the United States with no formal schooling. Luma Mufleh wants them all to have the opportunity to succeed. Born in Amman, Jordan, she moved to the States as a young adult. In 2004, she founded the Fugees Academy in Atlanta, a school specifically catered towards young refugees.  [Watch Now]

Headshot of Luma with her arms crossed and smiling

Modern Hero

One wrong turn and a soccer ball changed the trajectory of this Modern Hero’s life, and the lives of refugee children from around the word. This is her story. [Watch Now]

A student on graduation day hugging a family member who is holding yellow roses

Fugees of Georgia making America a second home

Every state except for Wyoming has hubs of refugees from all over the globe, part of America’s legacy as a melting pot. Now, some communities feel threatened as tensions rise and the new administration implements a travel ban, severely limiting the number of refugees permitted in the country. Just north of Atlanta, one community is working to make America their second home.  [Watch Now]

A student on graduation day hugging a family member who is holding yellow roses

CNN Heroes 2016: Helping refugee kids find their footing in the U.S.

Clarkston, GeorgiaCNN — When refugees receive what they call the “golden ticket” to the United States, they hope to put their hardships behind them and start a better life.  [Read More]
A student on graduation day hugging a family member who is holding yellow roses

How refugee soccer academy helped turn a young man’s life around

Growing up in a refugee camp in Eritrea, Ogbai saw severe poverty, hunger and fighting. He thought his life would be better when he moved with his mother to Atlanta when he was around 7 years old, but he struggled to fit in at school.  [Read More]
A student on graduation day hugging a family member who is holding yellow roses

Teen talks about the hardest part being a refugee

A group of young adults from The Fugees Academy, a school for low-income refugee children just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, speak about what they imagined the United States would be like before they moved, what their lives are like now, and some of the struggles of life as a refugee.  [Read More]
Fugees studentes and founder Luma circled together with their hands raised before a game

Refugee kids find hope on the soccer field and in the classroom

Clarkston, GACNN — A wrong turn changed Luma Mufleh’s life. “I was taking a drive to Clarkston, Georgia, to visit a Middle Eastern grocery store,” she said. “On my way home, I missed my turn, and I had to turn into this apartment complex.  [Read More]
An ariel shot of a young girls and their coach lying on the field in a circle with a soccer ball in the center of the circle

CBS News Sunday Morning – Lending a hand to refugees in America

Sometimes, taking a wrong turn can change your life. That’s exactly what happened to Luma Mufleh one day while getting lost on her way home stumbling upon a group of refugee children living in a suburb of Atlanta. Mark Strassmann reports on how she’s lending a helping hand.  [Watch Now]
Fugees graudation with flags of different countries in the foreground

Tom Brokaw Presents “Bridging the Divide”

Bridging the Divide  [Watch Now]
Headshot of Luma Mufleh wearing blue and smiling

The Tavis Smiley Show

Inspirational soccer coach Luma Mufleh explains how her team of refugees came to be.  [Watch Now]
Ariel image of a young boy writing on a table

A Small Town vs. Refugee Soccer Players: Is That Our Future Too?

White people under siege — that’s one of the themes of Warren St. John’s book about the struggle of mostly African kids and their Jordanian coach to find a soccer field in the small town of Clarkston, Georgia  [Read More]
Headshot of Luma Mufleh wearing blue and smiling

Fugees on Today Show

Fugees on Today Show

Fugees on Today with Tiki Barber.  [Watch Now]
Headshot of Luma Mufleh wearing blue and smiling

CBS Early Show

Fugees on the Early Show  [Watch Now]
Headshot of Luma Mufleh wearing blue and smiling

Sports: Annual ARETE Honors for Courage in Sports

Fugees: Arete Honors 2008.  [Watch Now]
Headshot of Luma Mufleh wearing blue and smiling

Fugees U15 mother’s day soccer special on ESPN

 [Watch Now]