Help Refugee Family from Afghanistan

*we cannot name this family or include specific details for safety reasons because they still have family back in Afghanistan that could be in danger*

Hi, my name is Darya and I am 15 years old. I am from the DC area. My mother found a very young family through an organization called IROC which helps immigrants and refugees that need help with settling into the United States. I met the family last weekend because they desperately need help. I went with my mother and grandmother to drop of donations at their place of residence. We had brought toys for their toddler children. We also brought clothing and shoes because they had nothing with them. We were surprised by their living conditions. It was them and another family (an aquintance who had given them shelter), a total of 9 people, living in a tiny one bedroom apartment. The young family basically lived in a corner of the living room. Once we got their we heard their story.

The father of the family was physician who lived in Afghanistan. He worked with the US government as a translator. When the Taliban took over, his life and job were at risk. The Taliban killed his boss so he fled the country with his wife and small kids. The US government did not help them so they had to get help from another government to get a humanitarian visa. This family had the ultimate dream of coming to the US, so they crossed 12 countries with various forms of transportation including walking. His wife got ill and his kids developed malnutrition because they could not get adequate food. Once he got to the US he and his family were detained after crossing the borders. They were sent to their friends house by the government without knowing how small the apartment was.

They are currently living there with small amounts of food. They need our help to seek asylum and be able to get a work permit. He dreams of resuming his profession. This requires a lawyer and all the pro bono offices have a significant backlog and cannot take on his case. Therefore we need to raise money to help pay for his lawyer and pay for anything else they need. Any amount donated will help them in their journey toward getting asylum, thank you on their behalf.