Fora - Global Grant 2025-2026

In the mid-2010s, Chicago couple Michael and Kathleen O'Connor began supporting Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the United States, quickly noticing that refugee students faced significant educational challenges due to lack of access to formal schooling in their home countries.

In January 2019, they founded Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA), the United States' only learning center dedicated to K-12 refugee education, starting with tutoring sessions in their homes. Over the past five years, FORA has grown substantially through volunteer and donor support, weathering challenges including the pandemic and the arrival of Afghan refugees, while moving spaces four times to accommodate expansion.

Now headquartered in West Ridge as of June 2024, FORA serves over 100 students from 10 countries with 150+ more on the waitlist, celebrating milestones including their first high school graduates heading to college.

Here's news coverage about the grant: The Rotary Club & FORA: Volunteer Open House