In 2018, Sustaining International Sisters (SIS) was created by asylee Canan Arikan and Ruth Schowalter to bring together asylum seekers, other international women, and U.S. citizens in the metro-Atlanta. SIS aims to create a warm all-embracing community to support those suffering from the loss and stress that comes with re-location and establishing new lives.

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SIS is helping asylum seekers break out of their isolation, share their stories, exform trauma, integrate body, mind, heart, and spirit in a new culture, make friends, and establish a sense of belonging to a wider community while enriching the lives of other women participants. 

    

InterPlay is an active creative way to unlock the wisdom of the body. Here in Atlanta, we are a diverse group of women from all over the world. As women, we are finding ways to enter each other’s lives, share our cultures and dreams, and support each other whether we were born in the U.S., immigrated here, are seeking refuge.

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InterPlay gives us ways to gently get to know each other while respecting our own individual needs. InterPlay allows us to move and discover new ways to express ourselves as well as tell our stories. 

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In 2019, Online Global SIS: InterPlay is launched to continue to connect with and support women who left Atlanta and returned their countries. 

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In 2020, SIS became a 501c3 nonprofit as InterPlay Sustaining International Sisters.