Thank you for all the kind donations and Amazon gifts. The four Shia Afghan wished to convey their appreciation and thanks for the support from our community.

But the problems are not over. The children have pressing needs, and our fundraiser is ending this Sunday at midnight. Their uncle is making medical appointments for them, and the young boy has urgent dental needs that need to be addressed immediately. However, without money to pay for medical and dental bills, (and the fact that the children have no insurance), they can’t pay for those services. We need your help. These are the last two days of the fundraiser, and every penny counts. Please help them with a kind donation today.

It is been approximately one month since the four Shia Afghan orphans arrived in the US, and they have undergone dramatic changes. The day they were going to get on the flight to the US, their mother was killed before their very own eyes. In the chaos, an American soldier rescued the children and placed them on a plane to the US. After weeks in immigration processing, family members in Texas were located and the children were placed with them. The story reached the media quickly: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/4-afghan-orphans-reunite-with-family-in-houston-after-mother-killed-in-kabul-terror-attack/285-2ddc7dc6-6b6d-417c-b2a1-3cede5dd4404?fbclid=IwAR1VebOn553mus210UgZJtxBq2zweRh-2YnjAEJXlHCKkeKDRIWw8c69yA8

Family members of the four orphaned children have been located in the US after an exhaustive two-week search, and the children have been placed in the custody of their Aunt in Houston, TX. They are three sisters and one brother, Hajar, Nastaran, Kausar and Ibadullah.

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Last month, when this Shia Afghan family tried to leave Kabul to travel to America, an attack from ISIS-K resulted in the death of the mother, leaving the four children without anyone to care for them. Within moments after the attack, an American soldier scooped up the children and put them on a plane. A day later they arrived in Northern VA.

The orphans were kept under the custody of the US Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and for reasons related to the pandemic and security measures, no one from the Shia community or the greater Afghan community was allowed to visit with them.

Today, in a tearful reunion, they were allowed to be transferred to the custody of their family members. A news team from local media in Houston captured the emotional meeting, and the story can be seen here: https://www.khou.com/mobile/article/news/local/4-afghan-orphans-reunite-with-family-in-houston-after-mother-killed-in-kabul-terror-attack/285-2ddc7dc6-6b6d-417c-b2a1-3cede5dd4404

The reporter who covered the story, Marcelino Benito, later texted us to say that he too was overwhelmed at seeing the family reunite. See his post here: https://twitter.com/MarcelinoKHOU/status/1435696887206752258

However, the needs of this family continue. The children’s family members need your help get the resources they need to support their needs. Please help the orphans by contributing to our fundraiser at https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/afghanorphansdmv#!/ - 100% of the donations will go directly to the family.

They also need supplies, such as clothing, books, shoes and other essentials. We have set up an Amazon gift registry for them, and you can access it here: https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/KAT2UCZN0Z6H/guest-view

Here is a brief update on the Shia Afghan orphan children that arrived in Northern Virginia last week. The children are still with immigration processing services. Although earlier reports noted that there were three children, we have confirmed that there are four children, three girls and one boy, between the ages of 6 and 17. Representatives from Husayn for Humanity will be visiting with the children in the next few days. We are hoping to give them some gifts, clothing, toys and other things they may need.

We have compiled a small Amazon gift list for the children and are asking you to help purchase some items for them. Any additional items in excess of these children’s needs will go to other Afghan refugee children. The gift list is here: https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/KAT2UCZN0Z6H/guest-view and when you click purchase, it will be sent automatically to Husain for Humanity for distribution.

Please consider that as orphans, they will have long term financial needs. As such, financial donations can be made here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/afghanorphansdmv#!/

Husain for Humanity has been doing tremendous work in helping thousands of Afghan refugees on a daily basis. Their network of volunteers is an inspiration for all, and we as a community must do everything we can to support them. Please contribute to their GoFundMe fundraiser today: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-resettle-afghan-refugees

The individuals and groups who have been helping these children are part of a grassroots initiative, and are not affiliated with any one organization.

Thank you for your amazing donations and support!

We have surpassed our original goal of $10,000 in just 9 hours. This could not have been possible without you. This is an amazing testament to the power of community. We are all blessed to have these donations from such caring individuals as yourselves. 

We must push on and try to give as much love and support to these children as possible. As such, we are raising the goal to $25,000 in the hopes to raising an amount that will satisfy more of their needs. 

Thank you all for everything that you have done - let's keep moving forward and spreading awareness of this fundraising campaign! 

Over 75 families have volunteered to assist with taking the children into their homes, so we are creating a database for future orphans that may come to the US. 

Please complete this form if interested in housing these children or any others in the future: https://forms.gle/haDyrgGoKZUBhpKw7

For anyone with any questions, please contact Rahat Husain at rahusain@gmail.com or Abed Ayoub at abedayoub@gmail.com. This initiative is a grassroots effort and we count on your support.