Help us Reunite Paiman with his Sister in Seattle!

Help our Welcome Corps group raise $2,425 so we can bring Paiman to Seattle as a refugee and reunite him with his sister Wazhma and her family!

Earlier this year something quite amazing happened. During a Zoom call with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to learn how they support the Welcome Corps program, I met an Afghan refugee who fled Kabul after it fell to the Taliban in August 2021. By happenstance, she and her husband were resettled in Tucson, Arizona which is my hometown and were planning to move to Seattle, Washington where I currently live! We have stayed in touch and have become good friends; I have opened up my heart and life to her in Seattle, introducing her to my circle of friends and showing her what the Pacific NW has to offer.

As it turns out, Wazhma was on that IRC call to find out how she could form a Welcome Corps group of US citizens to sponsor her brother Paiman and bring him to the United States as a refugee through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program set aside for Afghans who helped the US efforts in Afghanistan. She has no immediate family in the United States and her brother has been away from home living in India for the last 8 years in limbo awaiting resettlement. After working as an inventory specialist in the US Army from 2011 to 2013, Paiman worked as a model and fashion photographer in Kabul and currently supports himself working as a photographer and videographer in Delhi, India.

Myself and four of my friends have formed a Welcome Corps group to sponsor Paiman as a refugee for his first 90 days upon resettlement in Seattle and we are committed to seeing brother and sister reunited! The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power has led to a nightmare situation for many families where family members were forced to split up, never knowing if they would ever see each other again. In our own small way, we are doing our part to reunite one family and bring some happiness, love, light, and positive energy to the world and combat the darkness of the Taliban but we need your help!

We must raise at least $2,425 to submit an application to sponsor Paiman as a refugee for resettlement to the United States and this money goes towards securing basic needs such as housing, food, and transportation for his first 90 days in Seattle. With your help we can raise this amount easily and more to submit our application and ensure a smooth transition to his life in the United States where he hopes to one day be a fashion photographer!

Please donate whatever you can! We are grateful for any amount.