Background: By August 2021, approximately 120,000 Afghans had been evacuated from Kabul. Since then, about 73,000 have arrived in the US, of which about 52,000 have left military bases and are now being resettled throughout the US, including a few thousand in the East Bay Area of San Francisco. Resettlement agencies and community-based organisations handling case management of direct resettlement and post-resettlement services have been overwhelmed, and ICZ Outreach Committee stepped up to help with the resettlement in our areas.
Here is how ICZ Outreach Committee, along with volunteers from the broader ICZ community, helped the Afghan newcomer families and individuals in need of important supplies to begin their new lives.
Alhumdulillah with the support of the community, we raised over $28,000 to purchase supplies for Afghan families in need.
Provided 100 quality backpacks with complete school supplies for 50 elementary and 50 upper school kids . This initiative was in collaboration with the Interfaith Council Contra Costa County, ICCC and volunteers from St Isidore. In addition the backpacks were coupled with 100 stainless steel water bottles and lunch boxes for the elementary kids.
To date, we have provided approximately 60 bed frames and 50 mattresses, enough to support about 20 refugee families. This part of the initiative is currently on-going.
Thanks to the help of donations from the community and more than 25 volunteers, we organised and executed grocery purchasing, packing & delivery, in conjunction with MCC East Bay’s Food Pantry. In total, 160 fully packed grocery bags containing every day food essentials for a month to two months worth of groceries per family, were distributed
In addition, a team of volunteers continue to collect and deliver donations of various household items across the Bay Area such as cribs, dining tables, chairs, sofas, microwaves, TVs, etc!