DURHAM, N.C. – Ghazwan Alsakafi is used to living through disasters by now.

Born and raised in Baghdad, Alsakafi entered the Iraqi Naval College in 1988, at the tail end of the Iran-Iraq War. He then survived both the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. After working with U.S. occupation forces for a few years, he fled Iraq as the security situation deteriorated, eventually settling in the United States in 2010. When news broke early this year of the pandemic that would become COVID-19, he said he knew it was serious but felt unfazed.

“Maybe because of what we used to live through over in my country, I would say we're going to be OK, but we definitely have to take it seriously,” he said.

Alsakafi lost his job at a Triangle-area hotel this spring, one of millions who found themselves out of work.

As the pandemic grew, refugee service organizations like Church World Service began hosting regular video conferences with the refugees and immigrants they serve. During one of those calls, Alsakafi floated the idea of holding a food drive for others in need. The refugees and CWS staff soon decided the need for protective equipment was even greater.

“There are people who are in need of food, but people are really in need of sanitizer and masks, and they are a bigger group,” he said.

Before long, Alsakafi and his fellow refugees were pooling money to buy masks and hand sanitizer. They then started delivering the supplies to people who need them. Many of Alsakafi's neighbors are elderly, so he said they are especially in need of help.

Kokou Nayo, a refugee community organizer with Church World Service, says the organization quickly spread Alsakafi's idea to other communities it serves, in places as close as Greensboro and as far away as Ohio and Texas. He says empowering people to look after their neighbors can allow large numbers of people to evade the worst effects of the pandemic. It also gives refugees a way to help their new home and demonstrate to communities how much they care.

Alsakafi says he's very proud his idea was picked up nationally. In all the hardships he's endured, he said the best thing anyone can do is remain positive.

“In every situation, pandemic or no pandemic, there is still death and there are still newborns,” he said. “Nobody can control the future. But in this situation, just live with it.”