Support for an Afghan Refugee Family

Learn about and donate to help support the young Afghan refugee family that St. Mark's mentors.
Your donations will help support the Afghan refugee family St. Mark’s is mentoring.

A new life is taking shape for our Afghan family. Six months after fleeing Afghanistan, they moved into their new home on May 1. Upon arrival, the little boys commenced building with Duplo blocks. Their mother unpacked their boxes and smiled at the waiting Afghan dinner with which to break the fast for that day. The father was delighted to discover a friend from Afghanistan living in the complex along with 50 or so other Afghan families—a built in community for the new arrivals! The father wrote they “were so extremely grateful and frankly speechless when they arrived and found everything so beautiful and what was needed from A to Z. They never anticipated their new home would be filled with such creative and thoughtful furnishings.”

We are grateful for all of the work and donations from St Mark’s and Christ Church parishioners. Special thanks to Kim who scheduled movers, Josie for organizing volunteers, Good Neighbors Capitol Hill for the household essentials, and all the volunteers who set up the apartment and brought food staples. Congratulations to Karen for organizing it all.

There are challenges ahead, but we give thanks for all that has been done to get them to this place.

Background: The Afghan family we are mentoring is among some 76,000 refugees who fled their country and came to the United States because their lives were in danger in Afghanistan. They left behind almost everything. Their departure was traumatic, especially for the young children. The mother has begun ESL tutoring and is an eager and quick learner. The father has started a job in Virginia. Our volunteer team has helped them navigate the Metro, taken them to the zoo, introduced them to Giant and Safeway, and taken the parents shopping for new clothes. With the help of a pro bono immigration lawyer from St. Mark’s, we are both pursuing asylum status and tracking the father’s application for a Special Immigrant Visa.

Support efforts: The St. Mark’s community is supporting the family on every step of their journey. Working in partnership with Christ Church, the Refugee Steering Group has developed teams to mentor and assist them. Our extended St. Mark’s family has generously offered contributions in kind, professional skills, time, friendship, and donations.

The donations are vital and go to meet:

  • Housing needs
  • Emergency medical needs
  • Transportation
  • Translation services
  • Toys for the kids
  • Clothes for everyone

We welcome your support as we continue this vital ministry.

To donate to the Refugee Emergency Assistance Fund of St. Mark’s, follow these easy instructions:

  • Click on the Donate or Pledge link, which is on the St. Marks website.
  • Then click “Donate Now”:
  • When you see “fund” on the next screen, scroll down to find “Afghan Outreach” at the end of the list.
  • Select and click on it.

We’re grateful for your support.


To learn more about the Afghan Refugee Mentoring project, contact Karen Getman. Interested in volunteering? Contact Kim Bayliss.

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