Help Afghan Refugees Resettle in Northern Virginia

Update on April 30 2025: The story of the Afghan refugee family with five children who arrived here in mid-January 2025 (in the nick of time) from exile in Pakistan and insecurity and danger in Afghanistan continues and I’d like to provide an update as I need your help. Given the trauma for so many people of current events, helping this family has proven rewarding to those of us who are involved. It's in many ways a microcosm of what’s possible when we extend a helping hand to those less fortunate. In this case, local charitable organizations have come forward with donated furnishings and help moving and installing them in the family's residence, and a voucher for clothing at a thrift store.

So, despite many challenges, including language and cultural barriers, in the most important ways the family is thriving. From the arrival on the first night, they’ve been introduced to and overcome so much, from the scary unfamiliarity of car seats for the youngest children upon arrival at the airport here in the US to learning how and where to shop for food. But everything has gone quite smoothly, relative to what could have been. This is due no small part to the generous welcome they’ve received from strangers like you, which has helped them to feel secure after a long period of insecurity. In the culture they left behind, loving grandparents and adult siblings made it possible for the parents to work full-time. Now, however, due to events beyond every family's control, the grandparents are a half a world away and this family has been doing its best to stay afloat without traditional family support. If you would like to know how you can help this family of earnest, hard-working parents and five children ages 11-1, please read on.

Since I last updated this GoFundMe, the eldest children have been enrolled in school where they are happy, making friends, and doing well in their classes. They love school and hot dogs and pizza. They have made friends, are learning English rapidly, and eagerly welcome any opportunities to play soccer with neighborhood children. The younger ones are eager to go to school too and this fall the middle child and second youngest will also start school and pre-K, respectively. Everyone has had required physicals and the father has learned the rules of the roads in the US and received his state driver's license recently. The mom studies English in a real-time interactive class held over the phone as she does household chores and watches the children. The father has also been taking English and driving classes and recently got not just one job, but two. Here is where it has become very challenging and where we need help to continue.

The jobs, he discovered after accepting them, are accessible by public transportation only between 5 am and midnight, but he is expected (“company policy”) at one job to be at work at 4 am, and currently has no way to get to work except for Lyft or Uber, although he continues to seek alternatives. The second company also expects him to work hours where he cannot use public transportation for at least one leg of the trip because buses and the subway are not working between about midnight and 5 am. The father has actively used public transportation since soon after arriving and is well-acquainted with bus and Metro schedules but now, when it matters most, he cannot use it. The jobs are relatively well-paying and 5-6 miles from his home, so it makes sense to try to keep them. However,…

The family has no car. The money we’ve raised so far has gone to rent, utilities, purchasing Metro subway cards, getting necessary items for the kids like a trundle bed and toddler bed, and paying for some emergency dental work one family member has required. The balance left is just enough to get through the next two months.

A Car Donation or Donations for a Car. If anyone has the means and desire to help this family over this critical juncture, here’s how you can help: The family needs a car in good working order so that the father can access the jobs he already has and for which he has completed tests and training to get. At this point, due to the work situation, the car can be a small one (i.e., not suitable for transporting his family) but over the long-term, the family will need a vehicle that accommodates seven people. If you have a lead to a car that can be donated, please contact me. Otherwise, this GoFundMe is still open and can receive donations large or small to help this family resettle here and establish a secure and safe environment for their children. To be of maximum assistance, the donations are needed soon.

Your donations will go to good use: that should be evident from how well this family is so far doing. This family is on a solid path to self-sufficiency but needs your help now. The Welcome Corps which originally made a lot of this support possible is no longer viable, so we who are supporting the family have also been dependent on the help of friends, family and strangers to help this family.

If you’ve already donated and cannot do more, please know the family appreciates everyone’s help to date and know they have been enabled to succeed here solely because of your donations and the on-the-ground time-intensive efforts of a handful of volunteers to help transport the family to appointments, enroll them in medical care, and so forth.

If you are new to this GoFundMe, please read on for history of how I got involved, how the GoFundMe is set up, and how the money you donate goes into a bank account set up for the sole purpose of supporting this family. Thank you.

Original text from late 2024: Would you like to be part of an effort to support a soon-to-be newly arrived family of Afghan refugees who will probably initially settle in Fairfax or Loudoun Counties in Virginia when they arrive? [Please note updates below: The family arrived on schedule on January 13 and is settling in well in their new home. They have received the help of many people, some of whom personally delivered a dining room table and set it up, and many of whom--like yourselves--have donated funds that have proved vitally necessary. One local non-profit provided furnishings for the whole house to turn it into a home, and sent volunteers on short notice to set it all up. This is the America I know and have supported all my adult life. The family is very grateful for this support. Please read on to find out how you can help. Thank you.]

I created this fundraiser in the fall of 2024 as a part of the Welcome Corps Initiative, to help refugees resettle in the United States through community sponsorship. As a sponsor, I am taking on the responsibility of helping some of those people resettle in the United States, by supporting them in securing housing, buying food, paying for utilities, learning English or a job skill, or obtain services to help them become a part of our community. Help me welcome these displaced persons to the United States and become a part of our community. If you choose to donate, your contribution will go into a bank account separate from my personal accounts that has been set up specifically to support this family's resettlement in the US.

To become a sponsor, I went through an application process that was reviewed and vetted by the Welcome Corps program. The coalition is led by Community Sponsorship Hub, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in collaboration with GoFundMe.org.

If you would like to help me and my colleagues in our private sponsor group welcome this family with proper resources to do so, please consider a donation to this GoFundMe which has been set up to help with all of their initial expenses, including housing, home furnishings, school supplies, public transportation, and food.

This family consists of the parents and five children and is awaiting the relocation process to confirm when they will travel.

This activity is being carried out as part of a Private Sponsor Group whose application for Welcome Corps support has been accepted.

You can read more about the Welcome Corps here: https://welcomecorps.org/

This family has been in a refugee status for quite a while now, and will gratefully appreciate any help you can provide to make their transition to life in the United States go more smoothly. They will need help with getting their children into school and acquiring jobs, among other things, and those are the tasks you will be helping us with with your donation. I'll post updates on our progress. Thank you!

I will post updates as we progress in setting up a support network for the family here in northern Virginia. Whatever you can donate will go to help this family of seven get off to a great start in the United States. Thank you.

Update on December 11: I received official word today that the family will arrive here in northern Virginia in mid-January 2025. We are searching for affordable housing for them in this area right now. Thank you everyone for your donations!

Update on January 10: The family is scheduled to arrive here in the next week. Due to your generosity and that of many donors of clothing and household items, we are in the position to help this family get off to a good start. Many thanks again.

Update on January 14: The family has arrived after a long journey and all are in good spirits and deeply appreciative of all the help everyone has extended to their new beginning here. Thank you.

Update on March 5: One month ago today, the family of seven was able to move into a townhouse rental that was thoughtfully provisioned with donated furniture, ceiling lights, and kitchen ware due to donations from you and others. The parents are working on job applications and their school-age children started school last week. We are making great progress and they are very appreciative of everyone's help. Everyday expenses are considerable and, so, I am welcoming continuing donations, no matter how small, to help defray costs until the parents get employment. Thank you everyone!