--Leviticus 19:33-34 When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt, I am the Lord your God.

--Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

--Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

--Isaiah 58:10 If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.

--Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.”

In the News:
Article from Charisma Magazine highlighting the “Guzmans”. GFR_Charisma_Oct2005.pdf

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History/ “Our name”
The idea for the Tolbert Refugee Assistance Foundation (TRAF) was conceived on May 25, 2002—the day co-founders Rick Guzman & Desiree (Tolbert) Guzman were engaged. TRAF was incorporated in the State of Illinois on August 28, 2002 and given non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt status by the IRS effective as of the same date.

The need for a non-profit, fundraising organization grew from the experience of co-founders Rick & Desiree Guzman with local refugee families, many of whom had fathers who had not been able to immigrate to the United States along with their families. One family in particular, Domy Hakiza and her three children, were struggling to make it without the families father, Rodolphe, who was stranded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (see Hakiza family & Congo Country profile). Domy & Rodolphe had been forced apart and jailed separately because of their Tutsi ethnicity—after three years of separation, Rodolphe was finally approved to come to the United States, but was told he would have to wait up to two months for the process of approving his travel loan & subsequently having a plane ticket purchased for him. Instead, Rick & Desiree used their 2001 Tax Rebate checks they had been saving and got others to pitch in for the $1,200 plane ticket plus fees to wire the money to Rodolphe (now safely in Cameroon) who was able to purchase his own ticket and be reunited with his family in less than two weeks. On top of not having to wait significantly longer to rejoin his family, the gift of the plane ticket that donors had given meant that the family would not have to repay a loan for the $1,200—This meant that the arrival of Rodolphe would not negatively impact the family financially and instead allow some time for Rodolphe to brush up on his limited English in World Relief classes and spend some time with his children while Domy worked her new job.

Unfortunately, World Relief was not set up to pay for this type of expense and so donations could not be funneled through that organization and were therefore not tax-deductible. Over the next several months, Rick researched the cost & steps to establishing a non-profit, tax-exempt organization and on May 25th, 2002, proposed the idea for the Tolbert Refugee Assistance Foundation as part of his marriage proposal to Desiree Tolbert. The ring that Desiree wanted cost several thousand less than what Rick had saved so he proposed using it to start a foundation that would bear her maiden name. So far, all branches of the Tolbert family tree end with a female and so this would be one way to ensure that the Tolbert family name was honored and would live on in some capacity.

As Rick & Desiree planned for their wedding, they cut as many corners as possible to save money for the foundation and asked friends and family to consider donating to their newly incorporated, non-profit foundation in lieu of wedding gifts. In this way, all start-up expenses were paid and thousands of dollars were raised to endow the newly created Tolbert Refugee Assistance Foundation and begin “reclaiming hope for war-torn families.”

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