Help Bilal Resettle in His New Home

My wife and I were recently evacuated from Afghanistan when the Taliban invaded the country. We have been resettled in San Antonio, Texas. We are very grateful that we have made it to safety, but we need support to start our new lives here in the U.S. It will be a few months until we receive all our documents, and we secure a job. Therefore, I am doing this fundraiser to help raise living expenses for our first few months here in the U.S. We are receiving assistance from our resettlement agency. This support is limited however and through this fundraiser we are hoping to raise funds for our immediate living costs such as rent, utilities, food, etc. This will help us get on our feet in our new home.

I am a person with a disability as I was diagnosed with polio at a very young age. My wife and I are both resilient people and believe in perseverance and hard work. I graduated from a private university in Afghanistan with a degree in finance. I have been a member and the backbone of the Afghanistan National Paralympic Committee for almost a decade. Through Skateistan, I became the first Afghan Paralympic Skateboarder (also referred to sitting skateboarder). Before moving here, I was working for Free to Run, an organization in Afghanistan supporting girls through sports. I have represented Afghanistan as Wheelchair Basketball Paralympic athlete in more than 6 countries around the world and have won many medals. My wife is a doctor. She has graduated from Bangkok University. She has worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross as an orthotic and prosthetic technician for the past decade.

We are confident that we will build self-supporting lives in our new home here in America, contributing many times over the opportunity for freedom and safety that is being granted to us by our new country. We sincerely hope that you will consider supporting us. Your assistance will tremendously impact our lives and ability to succeed.

Below is the breakdown of our expenses, estimated based on average costs in San Antonio, Texas:

$4500 for a one bedroom apartment (the monthly rent is $750. Since we are currently unemployed and do not have salary slip, we need to pay 6 months of rent upfront)

$600 for three months of utilities

$500 for three months of food/toiletries for two

$3000 for a car down payment (living in Texas, we are highly reliant on a car. We will need a mode of transportation to commute to work and other places)

$1000 for three months of car insurance and the fee for registering our vehicle

$150 for fuel for the car

$250 for a few pieces of furniture (we will be mainly asking for donations and thrift shopping. However, we would prefer to buy a new mattress, bedsheets, towels, and comforter.

Here I have added some of my pictures from the sports I have played:

In this video, I am talking about my love for sports and not letting my disability come in the way of my passion.

Thanks again everyone and please feel free to reach out to me for more information or if you have any questions.