Establishing Woman Leader & her Family in Canada

Let me introduce you an AMAZING young woman--Maryam!

Maryam has spoken up for women's education in her country since the 8th grade.

At age 16, she won an award from a Harvard women's group for her essay on Afghan women's situation in her country. The next year, she won a full scholarship to a major North American university!

This brave 19-year old is now working tirelessly to assist her mother, father, and three siblings from the Taliban and bring them safely to her home. 

Maryam's mother has been a women's educational advocate for 20 years, working for the largest women's NGO in her country. Her 21-year old sister is the first female Afghan railroad engineer. The family is at-risk under the Taliban due to their activism on behalf of women, and their connections to the West.

Maryam's brother was beaten this Spring with steel cables by the Taliban and taken by the police for no reason. Her father was beaten as he went to intervene on behalf of his son. The family has been subject to random house searches, with the Taliban looking for evidence of Western connections.

With the Taliban regime not allowing women to work, or go to school, or even freely walk about; and the threat of random violence at any time, we knew we had to get them out from under this capricious and cruel new government. 

Miraculously, the family are now in North America! It was very difficult to find an escape route for them, and took many months. But thankfully, this December, they made it to Canada!

This fundraiser has been helping us feed and house the family since September 2021. We thank you for ALL you have done to assist them! We need funds now to help them get the furnishings and clothing needed to set up their new lives here in Canada. Any donation will be so appreciated!

You can find their registry for setting up their home here: https://www.amazon.ca/registries/custom/3B6R9JDLTY4WX/guest-view

Guardian article of family at HKIA in August 2021

(The family was interviewed in this article back in August under aliases).