Grovara Assisting Refugee Family of 10 From Afghanistan That Is Resettling In North Philadelphia
Some 27,000 refugees from Afghanistan have landed in Philadelphia’s airport since the U.S. pulled its forces out of the country this summer and the Taliban re-asserted its control of government. Most of the Afghan refugees are shuttled off to U.S. military bases where they receive government support. But after that introductory period, the refugees are on their own, reliant on the generosity of the local communities serving as their new homes.
Nothing is guaranteed — not a path to citizenship, a job nor income, nor their next meal. It’s up to the goodwill of organizations that support refugee communities and regular American citizens.
When Grovara heard the story of a newly arrived Afghan refugee family in dire need of life’s basic necessities after losing their father, an Afghan soldier assisting U.S. forces who was killed by the Taliban, we knew we had to help.
The family, led by a 38 year-old widower mother whose children include sons who are 17, 15, 13, 10, 7, and 6 and daughters who are 11, 5, and 3, all need winter jackets, clothes, and shoes. The family is also in need of household items, foodstuffs, and personal hygiene items. Grovara has already purchased and donated several bicycles for the family to help them get around their new neighborhood.
For now, the family has found and moved into a rental home in North Philadelphia thanks to the generosity and tireless efforts of REST in Philly (Refugee Empowerment Support Team), a ministry out of St. Raymond of Penafort Church in East Mt. Airy.
But this family of 10 will need help paying rent and utilities.
“The overall need in Philadelphia and around the country for refugees is huge – housing is probably the greatest need,” says REST coordinator Dan McVay of St. Raymond. REST has committed to supporting the family for the next three years.
“There are more than 50,000 Afghan refugees who have been slowly moving out of eight military bases around the country. More than 700 have come to the Philadelphia area and finding housing has been an incredible challenge.”
REST was founded in January 2017 when there was a great deal of coverage around the refugees coming across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa and being displaced from Syria. The organization first welcomed a young man from DR Congo in June of 2017. The man, named Irene, was supposed to come with his entire family of seven, but ended up seperated from them.
In December of 2017 REST welcomed Espoire, a 20 year-old from Tanzania. The following May, the rest of Irene’s family from Congo arrived. And then in September 2019 REST welcomed a mom and her two boys from Tanzania. REST has partnered with two resettlement agencies as co-sponsors.
“These refugees that we’ve assisted have gone on to accomplish incredible things. They have become our friends and neighbors and we are fortunate to have them in our lives,” says McVay, who works as a Social Work Supervisor for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. “We are hoping for the same future for our latest family.
Those interested in donating funds
Help pay rent, utilities, internet service, etc. by emailing McVay at rest@saintraymond.net or donating through:
Venmo — @StRaymond-PenafortPhilly
CashApp — $StRaymondPhilly
Businesses can also donate
Cell phones, laptops, cleaning services, or any of the items listed below. Those can be sent directly to:
Grovara, 1900 Market St., Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
Afghan family’s needs
GrovaraGives is providing assistance to an Afghani refugee family that is settling in Philadelphia. The family is in need of monetary assistance to cover rent and utilities, as well as the following items:
Household items
Bunk beds
Queen sized bed
Television
Computer (laptop or desktop)
Food
Bread
Halal meats (beef, ground beef, chicken, lamb, goat)
Fruits & vegetables (pomegranate, grape, orange, apple, cucumber, tomato)
Hygiene
Soap
Toothpaste
Clothes
Winter jackets
You can support refugees in other ways
Reach out to your local elected representatives and urge them to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow those resettling to apply for a green card after a year.
HIAS Pennsylvania also recommends urging Congress to waive the sponsorship requirement which mandates that the humanitarian parole applicant find a person or institution to sign an affidavit swearing that they will provide sufficient support so that the applicant will not need to access any public benefits.
To learn more about the plight of refugees in the U.S.
Check out Rescue.org and UNHCR, The UN Refugees Agency.