Afghan Refugees Stranded in Baltimore
Tax deductible
Imagine escaping the brutal terror of the Taliban where your death was certain if you worked with the Americans! Imagine leaving your home, your neighborhood, your family, your business and the only things you have ever known with only the clothes on your back! Then imagine flying 50+ hours with small children in those same clothes for weeks on end - changing planes multiple times with limited language skills and not knowing which country you were going to go to start your life over. Then arriving in the US only to wait for months for promised help! And wait and wait and wait!
Imagine that!! I can’t! None of us can imagine this scene in the wealthiest country in the world!
Over 40 Afghan families have been stranded at hotels near BWI since they arrived in October from the receiving center with little or no support from the federally funded resettlement agencies that are specifically tasked to provide initial benefits to help them settle into their new home country so that they can begin to rebuild their totally destroyed lives! This is NOT the welcome that these Afghan families expected or deserve! Many of these Afghans worked side-by-side for years with our government and military as interpreters, translators, drivers, project managers, and protectors then became the families away from home for our American troops welcoming them into their homes, sharing delicious traditional meals and being embraced as family. My family along with so many other Americans have been touched by the warm generosity and hospitable kindness of the Afghans. Now we have an extraordinary - once in a lifetime opportunity to say thank you and extend a helping hand of kindness and generosity as they struggle to start a new life in a new country in a new culture!
These families have yet to receive Social Security cards, Medicaid, and SNAP. They want to work yet they need help finding housing and employment. This is the only way to begin to decrease the many months of trauma that they have experienced long before they boarded the plane in Kabul to escape the terror of the Taliban.
There are many school-aged children in the families who haven't been to school since they arrived in the US. They have no means of transportation and zero access to healthcare! There are a few pregnant women with due dates soon. They will surely go the emergency room for delivery, but this didn't have to happen. And they desperately need access to prenatal care! Are the federally funded resettlement agencies initially responsible to provide assistance to help these refugee families? Yes. Have they done their jobs? No.
In response to this humanitarian crisis in our own backyard, an extraordinary group of volunteers are stepping up to the plate and working together with IWDC’s Welcome Refugee program to meet the immediate needs of our new neighbors!
It cost approximately $25,000 for each family to rent a small apartment, pay the security deposit, pay for utilities, buy food and household items, and purchase a used car; this covers about five months of expenses. Your tax-deductible donation will directly support these families. The DC-based International Women's Democracy Center Welcome Refugee program has an outstanding track record helping to resettle families in the DC Metro area – and they do not take one penny of federal tax dollars to do their work! IWDC’s Welcome Refugee program works in concert with the established federally funded resettlement agencies to help families furnish their new homes, register kids for school, enroll moms in ESL classes, help dads find jobs and continue to support these families as they rebuild their lives in their new country. Established in 1995 as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, IWDC's mission is to strengthen women's global leadership through training, education, research and networking. In 1998, the United Nations awarded IWDC Special Consultative Status which ensures that IWDC can participate in all Special Sessions and global conferences with official NGO delegations.
Please make a generous donation now to help our new neighbors not only feel welcome in their new country, but to experience firsthand the true generosity and kindness of Americans!
IWDC Welcome Refugee Program
IWDC as part of solution to resettle Afghan refugees
Imagine that!! I can’t! None of us can imagine this scene in the wealthiest country in the world!
Over 40 Afghan families have been stranded at hotels near BWI since they arrived in October from the receiving center with little or no support from the federally funded resettlement agencies that are specifically tasked to provide initial benefits to help them settle into their new home country so that they can begin to rebuild their totally destroyed lives! This is NOT the welcome that these Afghan families expected or deserve! Many of these Afghans worked side-by-side for years with our government and military as interpreters, translators, drivers, project managers, and protectors then became the families away from home for our American troops welcoming them into their homes, sharing delicious traditional meals and being embraced as family. My family along with so many other Americans have been touched by the warm generosity and hospitable kindness of the Afghans. Now we have an extraordinary - once in a lifetime opportunity to say thank you and extend a helping hand of kindness and generosity as they struggle to start a new life in a new country in a new culture!
These families have yet to receive Social Security cards, Medicaid, and SNAP. They want to work yet they need help finding housing and employment. This is the only way to begin to decrease the many months of trauma that they have experienced long before they boarded the plane in Kabul to escape the terror of the Taliban.
There are many school-aged children in the families who haven't been to school since they arrived in the US. They have no means of transportation and zero access to healthcare! There are a few pregnant women with due dates soon. They will surely go the emergency room for delivery, but this didn't have to happen. And they desperately need access to prenatal care! Are the federally funded resettlement agencies initially responsible to provide assistance to help these refugee families? Yes. Have they done their jobs? No.
In response to this humanitarian crisis in our own backyard, an extraordinary group of volunteers are stepping up to the plate and working together with IWDC’s Welcome Refugee program to meet the immediate needs of our new neighbors!
It cost approximately $25,000 for each family to rent a small apartment, pay the security deposit, pay for utilities, buy food and household items, and purchase a used car; this covers about five months of expenses. Your tax-deductible donation will directly support these families. The DC-based International Women's Democracy Center Welcome Refugee program has an outstanding track record helping to resettle families in the DC Metro area – and they do not take one penny of federal tax dollars to do their work! IWDC’s Welcome Refugee program works in concert with the established federally funded resettlement agencies to help families furnish their new homes, register kids for school, enroll moms in ESL classes, help dads find jobs and continue to support these families as they rebuild their lives in their new country. Established in 1995 as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, IWDC's mission is to strengthen women's global leadership through training, education, research and networking. In 1998, the United Nations awarded IWDC Special Consultative Status which ensures that IWDC can participate in all Special Sessions and global conferences with official NGO delegations.
Please make a generous donation now to help our new neighbors not only feel welcome in their new country, but to experience firsthand the true generosity and kindness of Americans!
IWDC Welcome Refugee Program
IWDC as part of solution to resettle Afghan refugees
Organizer
Jenna Whitney
Organizer
Arnold, MD
The International Women's Democracy Center
Beneficiary