Help Refugee Family Buy a Van

A year ago, MP and his wife, NP, were a successful career couple in Afghanistan raising three lovely daughters, now 5, 2, and 1 year old. Mr. P worked as an IT officer in the Afghan Air Force, and Mrs. P was the principal at a girls' high school. All that changed in August, when the Taliban took over the country, forcing the young couple to flee as refugees.

We left everything in Afghanistan,” Mrs. P said. “We took only some of our documents and some diapers and formula for our kids… we left our house, our car, and our money in the bank, and we weren’t able to bring anything with us.” Also fleeing with them were Mrs. P’s older brother, his wife, three children, and their parents. Now the three families are starting from scratch in Southern California, living in temporary housing in Claremont.

Leaving their homeland and everything they had worked so hard to achieve was not easy. But these resilient people are determined to rebuild their lives. We are asking you to help by contributing toward the purchase of vehicles.

Mrs. P’s brother was a pharmacist in Afghanistan and the author of four books.  His goal is to resume his pharmacy career, so he is studying to become licensed here.  In the meantime, he needed a job, so the very first day he arrived he borrowed a bike to venture out to nearby stores and businesses looking for work. It took just a short while to find employment, and now he and his wife are working at a local Italian restaurant. Without a car, they both walk two miles each way, sometimes coming home after 11 pm. The couple has three children living with them. Their older son, 23, recently registered for community college and will be studying to become a dentist. Their daughter, 16, attends Claremont High School, and another son, 8, attends Mountain View Elementary School.

Mrs. P’s parents also live in temporary housing in Claremont.  Her father, 82, is a retired colonel who served 28 years in the Afghan Army.  He recently had surgery, and his health issues require regular medical appointments. Her mother, in her 70s, ran a successful jewelry business with her daughter, training hundreds of uneducated women how to make jewelry from precious stones. She now helps out watching the younger children.

Although Mrs. P’s brother recently received his California driver’s license, the families do not have vehicles and must rely on the varying schedules of volunteer drivers or pay for expensive Uber rides to get them to medical appointments, grocery shopping, and school.  Your contribution will help purchase vehicles for these families to ease their daily transportation challenges.  Thank you for caring about refugees who have been through trauma.  Your contribution will enable them to create a brighter future for their families.

Kim Peasley

Newcomers Access Center (NAC)

[email redacted]

(909) [phone redacted]

1401 N. College Ave., Building F

Claremont, CA   91711

newcomersaccesscenter.org

A nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization

facebook.com/NewcomersAccessCenter