Three Unaccompanied Refugee Young Women

We’re raising $20,000 to support three women (ages 18, 15, and 11) for the next year as they get settled in Seattle. They’ve overcome tremendous obstacles fleeing Afghanistan, and with the help of various agencies, made it to Seattle. Now that they’re here, we are on a mission to create a safe, secure foundation for them to begin the next chapter of their lives.

These women are incredibly strong, but they are young women with no family in the U.S. We are their new family, and in addition to loving them, we need help providing them with some basic human needs.

We are hoping that with:

$9,600 ($800 a month ) we can subsidize rent

$2,400 ($200 a month) to supplement food assistance

$2,100 ($175 a month) to support transportation (bus/orca pass, rideshare, bike maintenance)

$4,200 ($350 a month to support medical expenses)

$900 (support to provide girls clothing and toiletries)

$800 (support technology-related expenses)

Please consider giving! For more information about their journey please read below:

For almost two years, individuals and small groups have been doing the work of governments to evacuate and safeguard at-risk Afghans. In the autumn of 2021, a group of 30+ young women, who were part of a cycling team in Bamyan, Afghanistan, were evacuated by land across the Tajikistan border and flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the hope of Canadian visas. Due two of the three girls being underaged all three girls were separated from their friends as their immigration application was being processed through the US agencies.

Three girls, all under 18 at the time of evacuation, spent months waiting in UAE’s detention center until they were able to get onto a US flight and find their way to the USA, being processed in Virginia and then eventually landing in Seattle.

The goal is to build a fund to help support these radiant and brave young women so that they can afford to rent an apartment near the city where they can ride their bikes, use public transportation and live in close proximity to friends who are becoming their chosen family! I hope that through your generosity of spirit and that of your friends and family - Shekiba, Zahara and Shegofa can start to build a life and community here in Seattle!

These young women were part of the first generation of Afghan women to professionally cycle and were part of the legacy of a women-led cycling movement in Bamyan. Started in 2012 by two girls, a team was formed and eventually, the first races for Afghan women in the history of the country were happening in Bamyan. In the nine years that followed, new teams emerged and when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, these three girls were riding bikes.

The original Bamyan team and the Afghan Women’s National Cycling Team in Kabul were internationally famous. They had challenged the gender barrier that had prevented previous generations of girls from riding bikes and cycling for sport. They were nominated as National Geographic Adventurers of the Year and graced the cover of magazines and were the subject of documentaries and museum exhibitions. These women didn’t just start riding bikes for sport, they rode to reclaim space and gain equality of access and freedom of movement in their communities.

Now Afghanistan is the only country in the world to ban cycling along with all women’s sports, school, working outside the home, and even walking in the public gardens. As of December 2022, women are also barred from working in national and international NGOs, causing many to suspend operations.

These young women risked their honor and their lives to ride bikes, and in August 2021, they fled their homes and risked their lives to race for the border. Over 150 cyclists and family members have been evacuated, but these three were separated from their teammates and are now living in Auburn, Washington- in temporary housing that the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has secured until the end of April. While it’s an incredible opportunity to have been granted resettlement in the US, it’s an enormous strain on the eldest who is only 18. All three have been separated from their family and their teammates, who were like sisters to them. Our hope and intention is to build a community around these women who will be a source of support for years to come!

Thank you for reading this far and considering a donation!

-Heather & Erin

‘we do not serve the weak or broken - what we serve is the wholeness in life and wholeness in each other! Unlike rescuing, fixing or ‘saving’ …service is Mutual! I am strengthened and made more whole every time I serve'