Afghan Family Resettlement

We are thrilled to announce that Najeb and Maryam welcomed a baby boy (6 lbs 14 oz) on January 26, 2022. Both mom and baby are doing great and the whole family is settling into a new routine at home on the HHS campus. The family has applied for a birth certificate for this brand new U.S. citizen! Thank you to everyone who contributed baby items from the registry – the family has felt extremely emotional and grateful for the outpouring of support and well wishes from our community.
 
Although the family will now pause to focus on their new addition, they had been extremely busy before the baby’s arrival.
 
Najeb has obtained his driver’s license permit! He studied for his permit with his ESL tutor and passed his written test with a score of 84%! He has had several driving lessons with a HHS volunteer and is ready to take his driver’s test. As a driver for the Army in Afghanistan, Najeb has excellent skills, but as he put it, “There are no traffic lights in Afghanistan!” This is the first step towards eventually obtaining a commercial driver’s license for employment.
 
With the help of the Afghan Family Resettlement Team and many HHS volunteers, during the last month, the family has also:
 

• All attended medical and dental check-ups at Clinica Family Health.
• Received their Social Security Cards.
• Received Medicaid and SNAP (food stamp) benefits.
• Received free internet services through a program for low-income households.
• Applied for WIC (Women, Infants and Children program that provides free milk and cereals for children up to 2).
• Received a free year’s membership for the whole family at Boulder County Recreation Centers.
• Had several playdates with young HHS families.
• Participated in ESL sessions several times a week in their home and signed up for virtual English classes through Intercambio.
• Received donated bikes and helmets (Najeb now rides to the Islamic Center for prayers on Fridays and to the Safeway for groceries).
• Gone on a field trip to Arash International Market and several other Afghan markets in Aurora to purchase halal meat and other staples.
• Gone sledding for the first time ever at Scott Carpenter Park!

 
Several HHS volunteers will soon start working with Najeb on money management and financial literacy. We have a whole team of HHS volunteers who are working on employment opportunities for Najeb. We are starting to think about pre-school in the Fall for the oldest boy. And we have many young HHS families with small children who have volunteered to be playdate, walking, and playground friends as the latest COVID wave eases and the weather warms up (we can always use more volunteer families, especially with young boys!).
 
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help and support this family. If you would like to get involved, please reach out to  resettlement@harhashem.org.
 
We also welcome monetary contributions to help support the family as they make a new life in the U.S. You can donate funds directly to the family for future use at their discretion. Or you can make a tax-deductible gift to Congregation Har HaShem to reimburse Har HaShem for the family's housing expenses, including rent and utilities. Go to Support Our Afghan Family for more details on both options and to make a monetary gift.