Support Afghan Familys’ Journey to Reunification

Hello. I am Mary Lynne Rahlson from Concord, NH. I'm raising money for my friends who came to the US during the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021. The parents and three of their seven children made it to the plane; but four of the children were separated from them during the chaos after the bomb interupted the evacuation effort at the Kabul airport. The four unaccpmpanied minors have made it to a refugee camp in Qatar with the help of the CARE (Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts) team and an immigration atttorney from USCRI (U S Committee for Refugees and Imigrants). However, their flight was cancelled on 1/22. They had bookings for a flight to reunite them with their parents the very next day. The news of the executive order had a significant emotional impact on the family; particularly since they had been working through legal channels for over three years to unite the family together.

Mom has been struggling with depression, high blood pressure and this latest news has rendered her unconsolable. Dad has been on a leave of absence from work since November to care for her and for the children that are here. He can pay his bills for February, but needs help to pay for their apartment, utiliites, food, etc. in Worcester MA. He is overwhelmed with uncertainity, emotional stress, worry, and anxiety.

They have been seen by a mental health crisis team and we are working to give them strength to continue on their journey to reunite their family.

I met the family in April 2022 when they rented an apartment from my church in Concord, South Church. I worked with a team of volunteers from South Church and the Unitarian Church to help with assimilating the family into American culture. We provided transportation to medical appointments and taking the older boys to sports. I became a close friend of the family while they struggled with Mom's mental health. I have remained in close contact with the family even after they moved to Worcester MA in March 2024. There is a much larger Afgan community there and mom has some friends there. She was much happier with the move and the dad got a good job. Things were going pretty well until mom slipped back into depression in November. The funds will go directly to the family to pay for rent, utilities, gas for the car, auto insurance and general family expenses until the mom can care for the children so dad can go back to work.