DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 12-foot puppet named Amal doesn't speak, but people who see her are mesmerized by her presence and what she stands for - hope.
"It's kind of amazing that people made a puppet to help all these refugees who need support," said 11-year-old Maya.
Amal symbolizes a ten-year-old refugee girl who is on a quest to find a place to call home.
The producers behind the giant puppet have traveled with her over "6,000 miles to 97 towns and cities in 15 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people on the street," according to the website, Walk with Amal, where money is also being raised to help refugee children.
Detroiter Duchess Lewis said she and her daughters follow Amal's travels online and were excited to learn Monday night that she would be in Detroit on Tuesday.
"I couldn't even sleep," said Lewis, adding that Amal symbolizes hope. "Her story.. her journey.. she's looking for her mother. She's a refugee and we all, at some point, feel like, at some point in life, that you could be a refugee. You know, I have been displaced in life before and it's just the journey, how far we've come. And when you continue to have the hope, you can make it."
Click on the video to see crowds in Detroit and Dearborn welcome Little Amal.
