Donate to Aid Shazia's Family in Crisis

Dear friends,

Shazia is my English as a Second Language student at Santa Fe Community College. She is a kind woman and a wonderful student and classmate. Shazia came to the USA from Afghanistan as a refugee. She and her husband have made a life for themselves in the USA after escaping unimaginable circumstances in Afghanistan. They are grateful for the opportunities our country has afforded them, and they give back by being hardworking, respectful, contributing members of our local community.

Recently, Shazia's family in Afghanistan was struck by a horrible tragedy. FOURTEEN of her family members were killed in the massive earthquake that hit Afghanistan last week. Numerous surviving family members, friends, and neighbors lost everything. Their community was reduced to rubble from the earthquake. Since then, there has been a series of large aftershocks that have made rescue missions, getting people medical care and basic necessities, and being able to focus on rebuilding nearly an impossibility.

I created this GoFundMe page to encourage you to support Shazia's family and neighbors. Any donations you make will go directly to Shazia and her husband. They will directly distribute whatever we can raise to help loved-ones address their most pressing need, which at this time is having access to what is needed to survive: food and water, shelter, clothing, medical care and medicine, access to transportation to relocate, materials to repair and rebuild, etc. A little will go a long way.

I was brought to tears in our class yesterday when Shazia told us the horrible news before breaking down and crying. I was moved to see her classmates-none speak her native language-console her, and offer her monetary support to send to her family. Most of the students in the class are immigrants who work multiple jobs and make numerous sacrifices to build a simple life and support their immediate families here in Santa Fe as well as support their family members in their home countries who are struggling. Seeing my class-a group of people who have only known one another for a three weeks-come together in a person's time of need gives me hope and reassures me that there is still a lot of good in our world.

I am grateful for any support you can offer to Shazia.

Thank you,

Jeff