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10 Practical Ways to Help Afghan Refugees During the Crisis
September 2021
By a member of SEND’s Diaspora | North America team — With the sudden collapse in Afghanistan and subsequent evacuation to the US of thousands of Afghans, we have an amazing opportunity to love people in Jesus's name. These refugees, who would otherwise never hear or see the gospel lived out in their own country, are now coming to our hometowns and cities! In light of this overwhelming opportunity, we have decided to give you some practical ways to help the Afghan refugees coming to the US. 

1. Look up resettlement agencies in your town or state.

There are nine national resettlement agencies and additional local ones. You can search for resettlement agencies in your area here. 

2. Volunteer to organize and be on a Welcome Team.

A Welcome Team consists of four to six people who register with a local refugee resettlement agency to help a new family for three months. Preparation for families begins before they arrive. A house or apartment needs to be located and outfitted with some basic household and food items. The team picks the family up at the airport and assists with settling in, learning English, finding a job, etc. The first month is more intensive with filling out forms and assisting with appointments to the doctor, dentist, Social Security, etc. (On these days, it is good to have at least one or two team members available to drive to appointments). Other team members can visit the family in the evenings. Training/orientation for Welcome Teams is available through your local resettlement office. Welcoming new families is a huge undertaking, but a wonderful opportunity to share and shine the love of Jesus into their lives.  

3. Call them Afghans. 

Afghanis is the name of their currency. 

4. Pray with them.

These refugees have been through a lot and many are traumatized. We can pray with them for healing and God’s touch upon their lives in Jesus's name. Pray for a miracle and expect a miracle!  

5. Talk with Afghans. 

If necessary, you can use Google translate to help you communicate with those who don't speak English. 

6. Offer financial or material support. 

Most of these new refugees will come with nothing. Communicate within your welcome team and with your resettlement agency about specific gifts. Gifts in kind, such as bed sheets, towels, or a kitchen setup package, would be more practical than cash (since they will not know where to go or how to find things in the huge stores that we have here). 

7. Be bold and brave and host an Afghan family!

Do you have an extra room, a furnished basement, or an in-law apartment? Would you be willing to take in a family for a couple of months, until they can find housing elsewhere? 

8. Be a friend - visit them. 

Afghans are very social people and thrive in community. They will be very lonely if left in an apartment or house and simply “given space.” Visit them, share meals, teach them to play UNO or other games (which are fun and can help them to learn English basics, such as colors and numbers). 

9. Teach English and be a cultural coach.

You don't need a master's degree in English to help your new neighbors. Get them a picture dictionary and help them to start building a vocabulary. Share about culture in the US. Some refugees have served as translators while others come from villages, so each family and individual will be at a different level in language ability. Offer lots of encouragement and laugh. 

10. Write us with your questions.

If you have a question about serving Afghan refugees, feel free to write us! One of our teammates, who has experience working with Afghans, will get back to you as soon as we can. 

10/10 Prayer Initiative

Each month, we pray with many others for God to draw 10% of the Muslim world to faith in the true God in the next 10 years. Would you pray with us?

  • Over twenty years ago, during the previous years of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s harsh interpretation of Islam drove hundreds of Afghans to renounce Islam and turn to Christ. We pray for that same action this time. May this painful upheaval in their country (and lives) cause many Afghans to turn to Christ.
  • Many Americans are nervous about the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to the US. Pray for the Church to step up and speak out about sharing love, mercy, and compassion with those in need. May our actions be louder than our words.
  • Pray that Afghans on the internet would find one of the Christian websites that minister in their languages. Bibles, music, sermons, and testimonies in the two national Afghan languages, Dari and Pashto, are available online.
  • Covid-19 is still ravaging countries. In many situations, it is the poor and needy left out of the health care systems. Pray for wisdom for our missionaries in these countries to know how to continue ministering with love and grace.





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