Meet Zahra, an Afghan refugee and sole support for her family. In 2021, she and her husband arrived in the United States with their four children and were successfully resettled by the Refugee Resettlement Office (RRO). However, after only a year in the United States, Zahra’s husband, only 39 years old, suffered a stroke and died. To complicate life further, Zahra was pregnant at the time of his death.
The RRO was able to raise enough funds from individual and church donors to pay the family’s rent for a year, along with a small monthly stipend. This gave Zahra time to care for her newborn baby and to adjust to her new role in the family, all while going through the grieving process. She was also enrolled in a special “Preferred Community” RRO program for one year, where she received intensive case management services and developed strong budgeting discipline.
Today, nearly a year since her husband’s death, with the ongoing help of the Preferred Communities Program, Zahara is doing well. She is emotionally stable and available for her children. She has also secured a job with the Kent School District as a paraeducator and is able to meet the needs of her family. Nevertheless, rent consumes about 75% of her income, so little remains for other expenses.
These are the kind of people that our Refugee Resettlement Office helps every day. Please join me in giving any amount you can for temporary housing for those the Refugee Resettlement Office serves. Temporary housing is crucial for people new to our area as they learn language skills, seek jobs, and wait for more permanent housing.
To donate, go to the Diocese of Olympia website and click on the “Give” button at the top of the homepage. Once on the donation page, you will find the Refugee Resettlement Office on the drop-down menu. You can also send a check made out to the Diocese of Olympia and note in the memo line that the donation is for the Refugee Resettlement Office Temporary Housing.
Let’s make room at the inn during the season of Advent.
In Christ,
+Melissa
