Help new arrivals learn to drive and buy cars

“We say do good and throw it's good deeds in the ocean, believing they will come back to you one day.”

Hi,

Do you remember the rush of getting your drivers license?

And the rush of independence that followed?

Imagine you’d like to get a better job, or a second job, but are limited because you can’t drive, don’t know the language, and do not have a car.

With your help, we can change that. Please help us raise $10,000 to put five people new to the US on the road with driver’s licenses and down payments for cars.

Our nonprofit initiative, Team Zubair, supports people who have fled difficult situations in their homeland and resettled in the US. Learning to drive, and getting a car, opens more options for jobs and educational opportunities.

I was there once too. A car changed my life, and we want to continue creating impact for other families, too.

Thank you,

Zubair Babakarkhail

Our impact:

Team Zubair has funded drivers license training and vehicle down payments for more than 20 people. They have been able to get additional or more lucrative employment, as well as save money.

Response is overwhelming. But we need your help to award additional grants.

Noorullah, featured above in the video, is former Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan, where he worked the US military. He obtained his learner’s permit and took driving lessons through Rogers Driving School in Pittsburgh.

With a car, he has been able to save money while also earning extra money with another job. He can also support his extended family in taking them to appointments as needed.

Aziza Aliyar with the help of Team Zubair, obtained her driver’s license through on-the-road lessons.

She arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan, and as the oldest child in her family is working to help care for her three siblings. With her license, she can take her family to doctor’s appointments, shopping, and can more easily navigate travel in the winter.

Who are we?

We are volunteers from around the world working to support new arrivals in the US. Though our work is focused mostly in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, we have created partnerships across the country.

Our effort evolved out of friendship.

In the summer of 2021, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, thousands of people were attempting to flee the country during the chaotic drawdown of US troops.

Among them were journalist and interpreter Zubair Babakarkhail, his wife, and three children.

Zubair had worked with many journalists, diplomats, and humanitarians who came to Afghanistan in his nearly two decades of reporting. A handful of them came together to support his safe escape.

Seven people worked around the clock in five time zones to help get the family to safety. Some now serve on the advisory board of Team Zubair.

Knowing the family would need necessities, we asked people to donate through crowdfunding.

Donations poured in. Soon, the group began fundraising not just for Zubair, but for other families.

They dubbed the effort “Team Zubair,” as a program of the nonprofit Industry’s Humanitarian Support Alliance (IHSAN), to enable fundraising efforts on a larger scale.

IHSAN, which translates “to do beautiful things” in Arabic, formed in 2008 to link donors with disadvantaged communities in need of basic human rights, including water, and sanitation.

Through surveying families, after basic necessities, we learned that transportation was the greatest challenge they faced. So we began to focus on awarding grants to get people on the road.

Thank you for your support!

Team Zubair