Photo courtesy of Forai
Jennifer Owens kept thinking about her Thanksgiving guests long after the last dishes had been put away. Connected by a New City Fellowship initiative, Owens had welcomed two families who were new to the St. Louis area, having arrived in the U.S. from Bhutan only two weeks earlier. They had spent 17 years in refugee camps in Nepal. The husband and father of one of the families had died, leaving the single mother to navigate a new life in the U.S. alone. She knew no English and had the equivalent of a second-grade education.
While her guests experienced their first American Thanksgiving, Owens imagined herself in their situation. She knew what it was like to live in a foreign country, having spent five years in Ukraine and Russia as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ. She imagined the pain and difficulty of losing her husband and becoming the sole provider for her family, even with the advantages of a college education and without a language barrier.
When Owens thought about her Thanksgiving guests, she prayed, asking the Lord if there was something she could do to help these refugee women.
“So many times the Lord started bringing different ideas to my mind around the idea of doing things with our hands; creating crafts, because a lot of women have crafting skills already,” she said.
Forai Jewelry and Textiles was born out of those prayers. Forai, which stands for “Friends of Refugees and Immigrants,” is both a business and a ministry–employing refugee women as artisans to sew and create jewelry.
The organization was formed in 2009 and now has both an online store and a storefront in Kirkwood, Missouri. In the earliest days, Forai began as a monthly meeting for women to craft together. Owens was careful to gauge interest from within the refugee community and involve the women in determining what would be helpful.
Forai initially sold its products at house parties and farmers markets before launching the online store. The addition of the storefront in June 2025 represents a new chapter in the business and enables more women to participate.
“The store was a big step forward to be able to provide a lot more work for our artisans,” Owens said.
While the storefront is in Kirkwood, the workshop is in South City, the St. Louis neighborhood where many refugees are initially resettled. The workshop space is in the former high school building of a Catholic church.
Owens recalls the strenuous process of searching for a workshop space while applying for a grant. The parish priest not only offered the space, but said that even if Owens did not receive the grant, Forai could lease the space for just $100 a month.
“It was so kind, and it really pushed us way ahead to be able to have permanent space,” Owens said.
The core values of Forai are dignity, empowerment, and community. The structure of the business is designed to alleviate the unique challenges and barriers a refugee can encounter upon resettlement. The artisans take two classes each month, but they are given supplies so they can do the majority of their work at home, giving them greater flexibility with variables like transportation and childcare. Some of the women who started as artisans are now in teaching or administrative roles within Forai.
The non-profit also tries to provide an ESL tutor to each woman to provide assistance in learning English and navigating some of the logistics of life in a new country.
“The goal is to build a mutual friendship, recognizing that we all have something to give and receive,” Owens said. “We hope that will help counter some of the isolation, help that woman learn English, and really feel like she belongs to her new community.”
Over the years waves of refugees have settled in St. Louis from places like Vietnam, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Nepal. Forai reflects this diversity, bringing together women across countries, languages, and religions. Connections form in the shared experiences and the act of creating together.
Owens recalls one friendship that formed between two women from Burma and Bhutan. Despite speaking different languages, with very little English between them, they formed a bond over a shared love of betel nut.
“We have Muslim women, we have Christian women, we have women from Afghanistan, women from Burma…it’s really sweet to see them looking past what seemed to be obvious barriers to what they have in common,” Owens said.
Though founded as an explicitly Christian endeavor, Forai does not require Christianity to be a precursor for employees or volunteers. Rather, the organization builds connections through friendship and offers optional devotionals before meetings. Owens envisions Forai as a faith-based organization providing a bridge to the secular community.
“We hope that we are really being the light of Christ, showing that his word calls us to love refugees and immigrants, to care for the oppressed, to speak up for the vulnerable,” she said.
Recent changes in immigration policies have caused concern among the refugee community in Forai. While everyone employed has legal documentation, some hold temporary protected status or special immigrant visas, both of which have been the subject of terminations this year. Even those with green cards or citizenship have expressed concern for those in their community.
A monthly well-being survey that Forai conducts among its employees shows an increase in worry and fears. In addition to emotional well-being, Forai also looks out for the practical needs of its refugee employees.
“We’re tracking whether they’ve lost benefits, if they’re in need of food or assistance paying bills,” Owens said. “These are the most hardworking people I’ve ever met…it’s hard to see them struggle. We’re trying to connect them with resources in the community that can help.”
In the midst of the challenges, the women display tremendous resilience and fortitude. Owens says one of the greatest blessings is hearing the women’s stories.
“It’s a very humbling privilege to be able to hear someone’s story of fleeing really desperate situations. It could be the first time that they’ve really allowed themselves to be vulnerable about something that was so hard, so painful, so traumatic. We’re crying together over what they’ve been through, and yet you see them on a daily basis in a place of great resilience and moving forward.”
New City Fellowship remains involved as well, supporting the ministry in both spiritual and practical ways like financial support, providing the use of its copy machine, and spreading the word when volunteers are needed. Many volunteers and even two staff members have come from the church’s congregation.
“I credit New City Fellowship and Pastor Barry Henning with helping me see the gospel connection…. very wholistic teaching about reconciliation and that God’s heart is for the poor and the needy, and all of us need to be involved in some way,” Owens said.
While the ministry started with New City Fellowship providing opportunities for its members to show hospitality to refugees at Thanksgiving, Owens now finds herself the recipient of hospitality from the friendships she has made through Forai. As a Southerner, she said she knows hospitality, but the generosity she has received from the refugees exceeds what she could imagine.
“I’ve tasted a lot of different foods because they love to share their food,” she said. “It’s just a small way that they can say thank you for helping them in some way. Most of the time I feel like, ‘I have helped you a tiny, tiny bit, and you have just blessed me in a such a huge way.’”