Housing for an Afghan refugee family of 15

We are a newly formed, small organization that has been working with a large refugee family, assisting with transportation, medical and dental appointments, food assistance, jobs, education, etc.

Our immediate goal is to help this family of 15, children ages 1-21 (8 girls and 5 boys), find and retain adequate housing. The owners of the home they’ve lived in for a year have been extremely generous, but have decided to sell the home. The family and children have settled in to their schools, jobs and community, thus our goal is for them to be able to stay in West Des Moines.

The father was injured in a car bombing while working in security for the U.S. Airforce at a base in Afghanistan. As a result he suffered damage to his spinal cord and has been unable to work.

During the unrest and withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the family was given less than 12 hours notice that the U.S. government had, for safety reasons, arranged for their transport to the U.S.

The father had back surgery in Des Moines in Spring of 2022 and pain management and rehabilitation are ongoing. The girls who were not allowed to attend school in Afghanistan, have flourished in the West Des Moines school system, eagerly learning to read and write in English. The boys are also attending school and all that are old enough have jobs in West Des Moines.

Any funds raised in excess of our goal will go to another refugee family in need.

Many Thanks!

Refugee Community Assistance Team

Tina & Kirk Neustrom

Kari & Rich Schulte

Lisa & Jeff Stratton

Terri & Mike Kruse

Jenni & Kirk Trow