Help Sam and Fam Fly Again

For most of the last decade Sam has served honorably as an officer in the Afghan Air Force, as a pilot on various fighter/attack and transport aircraft. His entire adult life has been dedicated to the betterment of his home country. Unfortunately things did not work out and under extremely specific life threatening conditions he had to leave and is now living in the US.

Though he has significant experience as a pilot he is currently not qualified to fly in the US. Many people do not know this but while highly trained and capable, US and foreign military pilots do not possess the civilian licenses, certifications and ratings to fly commercially.

In order to convert Sam’s experience into a career in the US he will need to test for Private, Instrument and Commercial pilot licenses as well as Certified Flight Instructor. I believe that he can accomplish this for around $10,000. Though the number is high, if he was starting from scratch his total bill would be around $100,000.

Details:

I believe that this path is the best way forward to support his family of 5. More specifically it seems to be his fastest route to earning significantly more than minimum wage. While Sam is eager to work in any capacity we have crunched the numbers over and over and supporting 5 on $15/hr or even more is not sustainable. Upon successfully converting his experience he should have no trouble landing a job paying $30-40,000 annually with potential growth to to $50,000-75,000 in the medium term. Long term he can live on this salary and could potentially move on to an in demand Airline job that could bring in significantly more.

This is a hand up and not a handout - this certification process will allow them to support themselves. For the past few months Sam and his wonderful family have been living with my wife and I and it has been a joy to see them eagerly embracing American culture. With their drive and work ethic I can already see them running circles around the American Dream. The other goal of hosting them is to help them skip the step of our “dream” experience of being mired in poverty while attempting to navigate this complex new life. The US government’s plan for incoming Afghans is to settle them in the projects. I think they would be safer in Afghanistan where they at least know who the bullets are for and can return fire. Every day they work diligently on flying lessons and American lessons. We have spent hours discussing what is really needed for success in this country. They’re getting up to speed on insurance, banking, car seats, school, college savings, etc. All the complicated American inventions.

Any leftover funds will be used to help them start their new life. Please consider how much starting from zero actually costs. Assuming they can rent a place for $1500/month; first month/last month/deposit alone equals $4500 up front. Now add insurance, utilities, utility deposit and it just keeps going.

They came here with a duffel bag and a good attitude and that’s it. They know nothing is guaranteed in life but many of us here have forgotten. This wasn’t their decision; they love their home and were surrounded by family. It may seem like an easy choice to us but they wanted to live at home in stability. They lived a comfortable, predictable life in Afghanistan that was suddenly shattered and they wound up in a country where things couldn’t be more different. We pretend our nation is stable and not in danger of a similar collapse…but what if it did? What would you do? Would anyone help you?

I’m happy to answer any questions or discuss anything further privately - there is only so much that is safe to publish.

Also we are affiliated with a registered 501(c)3 organization if you’d prefer to donate that way. Thank you!