Safed House

09/16/2026

We are excited to invite you to our annual ceremony for our Arizona 2026 winners on Thursday, October 1, 1:35 pm at Alhambra High School at 3839 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona.
Our winners are:

First Place Winner of the Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi Award is Anna Nagaheba who is originally from Tanzania. Anna will receive her monetary award and the Safed House video based on her winning essay will be shown.

Hannah Lillith Assadi will present the first-place award in honor of her father to Anna Nagaheba. She is the chief judge of our essay contest.

Hannah joins us in Arizona as she conducts several readings of her book 17 inspired by her late father's life. The book tells the intimate, sweeping tale of one Palestinian man's restless search for home the world over, as the pendulum of fate swings between loss and life, grief and euphoria, regret and hope.
https://changinghands.com/event/2026-10-01/hannah-lillith-assadi-paradiso-17

She will also have a reading on Saturday evening at Palabras Bookstore.
https://palabrasbookstore.com/event/2026-10-03/paradiso-17-reading-and-discussion-hannah-assadi

Second Place Winner: Zakia Zahidi from Afghanistan will be presented with her monetary award and we will see the Safed House video based on her winning essay. Susan Assadi will present the award to Zakia and serve as MC for the event.

If you are in the Phoenix area and want to learn more about Safed House's work and see how you can support our activities going forward, you can reach out to learn how you can attend.

[email protected] or call 480 510 4881
www.safedhouse.com
Follow us on Facebook: safedhouse

09/11/2026

We are proud to announce our annual ceremony for our Arizona contestants will take place on Thursday, October 1, 1:35 pm at Alhambra High School at 3839 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona.

Our winners are:
First Place Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi Award will be presented to Anna Nagaheba originally from Tanzania. Anna will receive her monetary award and the Safed House video based on her winning essay will be shown.

Second Place: Zakia Zahidi from Afghanistan will be presented with her monetary award and we will see the Safed House video based on her winning essay.

At this ceremony, the contest for our next year 2026-2027 will open and the rules will be announced.

For nine years, we have conducted this contest with refugees and immigrants in Arizona. In 2026, we will also will launch our first New York City contest, creating a space where refugee youth can share their diaspora stories, build resilience, and be truly seen by Americans who may not yet understand the lived realities of displacement. The New York City activity will take place at a future time to be determined.

Please see our contest page for more details on the upcoming contest https://safedhouse.com/annual-essay-contest/

Safed House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a welcoming space for refugees and recent immigrants to share their stories and find their voice within the American tapestry. Founded in 2017, Safed House offers a culturally sensitive environment where storytelling becomes a path to healing, resilience, and connection.

For more information contact:
[email protected] or call 480 510 4881
www.safedhouse.com
Follow us on Facebook: safedhouse

If you are in the Phoenix area and want to learn more about our work and see how you can support our activities going forward, you can reach out to learn how you can attend.

08/23/2026

We are excited announce the expansion of our annual essay contest to NYC. Our program will continue in Arizona.

For nine years, we have conducted this contest with refugees and immigrants in Arizona. In 2026, we will launch our first New York City contest, creating a space where refugee youth can share their diaspora stories, build resilience, and be truly seen by Americans who may not yet understand the lived realities of displacement.

The contest opens on October 1. To learn more see here.

Annual Essay Contest Safed House Launches New York City Essay ContestSafed House Announces Prompts for Arizona and New York City ContestsSafed House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to elevating the unheard voices of refugees and recent immigrants to the United States. We provide a secure, compass...

05/15/2026

Safed House wants to recognize that today is Nakba Day. 78 years ago over 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homeland. Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi, our co founder was one of those people.

Palestinians around the world are marking Nakba Day, 78 years after their forced mass displacement led to the establishment of the Jewish-majority state of Israel. Decades later, Palestinians still face widespread oppression and violence from the Israeli state as it continues its expansionary projec...

01/16/2026

Two amazing women-
Anne Marie Jacir, director and creator of the documentary Palestine 36

Susan Sarandon, fabulous empathetic actress who has embraced the Palestinian diaspora for decades.

We can’t wait to see the doc.

01/14/2026

We are launching our 2026 campaign to strengthen our capacity and expand the services we offer, ensuring that more refugees and immigrants have the support and platforms they need to share their diaspora stories.

Please take a look at our co-founder Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi's story here.
https://vimeo.com/1120123162?fl=pl&fe=sh

His heartfelt and yet resilient narrative still resonates against the backdrop of Gaza, one can’t help but ask: What remains?
Memories and Call for Humanity.

After you view Sami's story, please take time to look at our other videos documenting our winning fellows stories on our website www.safedhouse.com.

For our activity in 2026, please consider a donation to support our work at this critical time.

You can donate here: https://safedhouse.com/donate/

Videographer and Editor by Irin Daniels in 2017. Safed House inaugural video.

12/22/2025

New Year Message of Hope

As we welcome 2026, Safed House extends heartfelt wishes for a year shaped by healing, courage, and renewed possibility.

This season reminds us of the profound resilience within every person whose story we honor. Our thoughts are with the people of Gaza and Israel; families, children, and communities who deserve safety, dignity, and the chance to live without fear. We hold close the hope that the year ahead brings steps toward understanding, justice, and lasting peace for all who have endured unimaginable loss.

At Safed House, we remain committed to amplifying voices too often unheard and to creating spaces where empathy becomes action. In 2026, we will continue to uplift refugee and immigrant storytellers, build bridges across cultures, and champion the shared humanity that binds us.

Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful, healthy, and compassionate New Year. May this be a year where hope takes root and peace becomes possible.

Bolivia Inteligente

12/16/2025

2026 will mark a new world disorder as International Rescue Committee has lost major funding, according to Millibank President of IRC. Followers of Safed House pay attention to these big slashes by billionaires and the wealthiest leaders who are making these catastrophic cuts to support and help the poorest and neediest people in dire need of this aid.

A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in real time. Now is the time to meet the moment.

11/16/2025

We are grateful for the ongoing partnership we have in Arizona with Alhambra High School and three leadership champions there:
Melynda McBride, Jodi Weber and Janice Koivisto.

Our ceremony recognizing our 2025 winners Ricardo Magana for second prize and in absentia Joseph Ngolombe. It was wonderful share their stories we produced based on their moving stories about their respective diasporas from their home countries.

Their courage, resilience and hope inspire us and inform our work.

Our Leader, Susan Assadi was pleased to share the day with our team members, including Maha Kapageridis and Terrance Baloucek, First time Assadi founders' niece Yasmine Asadi, and Friends Lennie Clark.

Baloucek's videos were excellent and we look forward to working with him again in 2026. Photo credit for attached photos goes to Terrance Baloucek as well.

It was wonderful to see a full auditorium with potential Safed House fellow for our 2026 essay contest.