Help a Refugee Family Pay Their Rent!

Hi, my name is Kelsey and I have been working with my volunteer partner, Carolyn, for 6 months, mentoring the Hakimi family who arrived in Hyattsville, MD last October after being evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Latif, the father of the family, was a security guard at the U.S. Embassy for 11 years. He, his wife Nasa, and their 5 kids arrived in the U.S., and had their 6th child several months after arriving.

Latif has been working for a catering company, moving furniture for events. He is still learning English, and he and Nasa are in Zoom English classes through the resettlement agency, but it's hard for them to learn as adults. 3 of the kids are old enough for school, and are all learning English very quickly. The oldest daughter wants to be a doctor, and is so talented at English, math, and art (she recently received 100% on both of her math tests!). The middle daughter is always so eager to receive help on her homework and take care of her siblings, and is working hard on her English skills. Their brother just started kindergarten and is picking up English so quickly already, and enjoys riding his bike and hanging out with his friends in their apartment complex.

Unfortunately, their resettlement agency has told them that they cannot provide rental assistance anymore, and Federal funds have run out for Afghan refugee assistance. Local and state agencies have told us they have no available money, and almost every non-profit is also out of money. We have found a church fund that can provide some assistance, but it won't kick in for another month, and will only cover a fraction of their monthly rent, which was just increased to $1840.

Right now, Latif and his family need to be able to pay their rent for November, and also have some money left over in the bank to make up the difference between the church assistance and Latif's paycheck. We are crowdfunding this as we feel we have exhausted all other avenues of support from government and non-profit sources.

The Hakimis are a kind and hardworking family, always eager to welcome us into their home and generously share their food with us (even when we repeatedly say we aren't hungry). I would love to be able to repay their hospitality with some support from their new community.

Thank you all so much for your support, Carolyn, the Hakimis, and I are so grateful for any help.

Kelsey Grashoff