Sponsoring a Refugee Family

Help Sponsor an African Refugee Family

We call ourselves Refugee Friends. We are a small group of San Diegans, mostly Quakers, who have banded together to sponsor a refugee family from sub-Saharan Africa. In Africa, there are over 22,000,000 people who have been living in refugee camps, unable to return to their country of origin, and with no means of improving their lives.

If we raise $12,500, we can apply to Welcome Corps, a new State Department program, which will match us with a family of five and give us the responsibility for the family’s first 90 days living in the United States. Most of the money Refugee Friends must raise will go towards renting an apartment in our area. We have already donated and raised half that amount. When we raise all of it, we can apply to Welcome Corps to become sponsors.

Orientation to life in the United States begins the moment we welcome the refugee newcomers at the airport. It will be a cultural leap for all of us. We will have 3 months to enroll the children in school and help the adults to become employed – in short, to help the family transition to living independently. With $6,000 more Refugee Friends will qualify for sponsorship with Welcome Corps. We are asking for your help.

I sponsored seven families after the Vietnam War and am currently working with two Afghan families. This has been incredibly rewarding. Before the State Department established Welcome Corps in 2023, private American citizens like us could not sponsor refugees living in a refugee camp.. Thanks to Welcome Corps and your generosity, we can do this together.

Pam Barratt, Coordinator of Refugee Friends.

Other members of our team are Melinda Mariano, Mickey Goldberg, Kate Bennett, and Judy Rockland.

Give a refugee family a secure future.

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