Canopy’s Inspired Hands program was launched in 2024 to address some of the unique barriers immigrant and refugee women face. Many women spend their days caring for children at home while their spouses work. Limited transportation and language barriers can make it difficult to access employment, social opportunities, and language-learning resources. The program grew out…
Read MoreWorth the Wait: From Syria to Northwest Arkansas
Concern Becomes a Mission In 2016, Canopy was founded to build a stronger, more welcoming Northwest Arkansas. This founding grew from concerned community members who believed our region had the resources and heart to welcome Syrians fleeing instability and crisis. At the time, there were limited avenues for Arkansans to respond to the global refugee…
Read MoreFive Years of Welcome: A Reflection on the Fall of Kabul
My name is Khalid Ahmadzai, and I serve as Senior Director of Partnerships at Canopy NWA. I have been part of Canopy in one way or another since its founding in 2016, beginning with my graduate capstone project and continuing as a full time member of the staff since 2018. What follows is my personal…
Read MoreThe Long Way to Belonging
Each summer, Canopy welcomes interns who are eager to learn and serve, and become part of a community working toward a more welcoming Northwest Arkansas. This year, that community grew a little bigger as students traveled from across the country to spend their summer investing in the lives of refugees. There is an old saying,…
Read MoreFinding Opportunity, Sharing Tradition: Ilham’s Journey to Entrepreneurship
Written by Devon Newman and Saja Al-Shafeay When Ilham Alqaddour arrived in Northwest Arkansas in 2023, she brought with her something that no journey could take away: her passion for cooking, her resilience, and the dream of building a better future for her family. Resettled from Syria by Canopy Northwest Arkansas alongside her husband and…
Read MoreMid-Year Report
We are honored to share some highlights from Canopy’s six-month report, covering the services we provided between October 2025 and March 2026. These are not just numbers on a page. Behind every figure is a person, a family, a story — and we have been privileged to walk alongside each one. None of it would…
Read MoreA Story Worth Hearing Again
The following piece was written by Khalid Ahmadzai, our Senior Director of Partnerships, on World Refugee Day in 2019 and reshared last weekend. We believe it is important for our community to hear this story, especially now, as we mark World Refugee Day once again. We invite you to take a moment to glimpse the…
Read MoreDiscipline, Leadership, and Purpose: Ezzat’s Journey in America
When Ezzat arrived in the United States in 2023, he carried determination, responsibility, and resilience shaped by years of navigating displacement. Born in Syria and raised in Jordan after the age of nine, his early life was influenced by instability and difficult circumstances, including the loss of his home and loved ones during challenging times….
Read MoreWhere Hope Finds a Home: A Thousand Days, One Unforgettable Moment
Where Hope Finds a Home: A Thousand Days, One Unforgettable Moment by: Wael Rabeay On May 18th, the day of Canopy’s 10th anniversary, fifty minutes were enough to make adrenaline leap to the highest layers of my brain until it almost floated to the surface of my skin. My eyes opened to their widest extent,…
Read MoreWhen the Village Shows Up: Celebrating Six Remarkable Graduates
In April 2018, I moved to the United States from Afghanistan. At the time, I did not fully understand what this work would come to mean to me, how deeply it would root itself in my life, or how profoundly the people I have had the privilege of knowing would shape who I am. Eight…
Read More