My friends Mansoor and Zuhra fled Afghanistan with their toddler daughter last year. After arriving, they welcomed a baby girl who is almost 1 year old now. They are making a new life in suburban Maryland and their older daughter is beginning preschool this fall.

A few months ago, Moms On the Hill and the 400 K Street Neighbors collected enough money to buy the family a used Hyundai. It was a huge breakthrough for their ability to meet immediate financial needs as their resettlement agency support expired. Mansoor has been using the car the drive for UberEats and apply for jobs in MD and DC. Another volunteer and I have helped them pay for some car maintenance, and we will be helping with school uniforms as well.

The UberEats driving work is not enough money to cover rent, by about $200/month. The family is feeling tremendous strain as Mansoor’s job search has not yet been successful. Anything you could donate, even $10, would help the family avoid debilitating rent fears as they search for more sustainable income. Zuhra is also open to helping with babysitting or mother’s helper opportunities, anything that can help make a few hundred dollars per month while also allowing her to still take care of her own children.

Some background on the family, how they came to the US, and how the funds will be used: before Afghanistan fell, Zuhra worked as a cultural advisor and educator with the US Embassy. Mansoor worked with the Coalition in prisons that held Taliban fighters. They had a harrowing escape from Kabul, only allowed by the Taliban to leave their building because of Zuhra’s prenatal appointment. They fled to Pakistan after finding out the Taliban searched their rooms during the appointment and discovered their support to the United States. Zuhra has told me that the fall of the government made them sacrifice all their dreams and everything they had worked for, to live in hiding for months, eagerly awaiting a chance to save their lives.

I’m omitting their last names and grownups’ photos for safety because their extended family is still living in a Taliban-controlled area, but I’m happy to answer any questions about their circumstances. I met Zuhra and Mansoor as a volunteer with the Immigrant & Refugee Outreach Center (IROC), a 501(c)(3), when I delivered baby supplies for their new baby last year. The donated funds will go directly to a bank account they have established in the United States. Their monthly rent payment in their Riverdale MD apartment complex is $1340, increasing to $1380 next month. This $40 increase is a nice lunch for most of us, but has caused tremendous anxiety for Zuhra and Mansoor, and puts their housing cost almost out of reach until Mansoor is able to secure formal employment.

thank you so much for considering help at any level.