They Helped Us. We Can Help Them.

SamiraAfghan refugee Samira* was just a child when the Taliban first came to her town.

Her family fled to Pakistan and, after returning to Afghanistan, Samira later worked for a corporation contracted with the U.S. Defense Department.  Surrounded by danger, she applied for a special immigrant visa (SIV) to come to the United States.

Samira’s story reflects many of the experiences reported by people who are helped through the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement program.

Catholic Charities expects hundreds of Afghan families to arrive in Houston and is currently taking donations from generous, welcoming friends like you through our website, CatholicCharities.org/Afghanistan.

With your help, a chaotic, troubling time for these families can turn into a success story.

Samira received her SIV in 2015 and came to the U.S. in 2016. Today, she works with arriving families from many nations as a Refugee Resettlement case manager with Catholic Charities.  Samira lives in Sugar Land with her husband but she constantly worries about her family.

“You cannot return to the life you left; it is lost to us,” Samira said.  “Here, we have new opportunities to make a good life.  But for my family trapped in Afghanistan, I don’t know what will happen to them.  I hope every day they will be fine, but I am so scared.”

She is especially concerned for her teenage brother, who faces an ongoing threat of conscription into Taliban service, and her sisters, who face suppression as females.  “Living as a woman under Taliban rule is like being a bird in a cage.”

Afghani families like Samira’s need help from generous people like you.  To help them build a new life in Houston after fleeing danger, please donate at CatholicCharities.org/Afghanistan.

*Not her real name to keep her safe and protect her family still in Afghanistan.