Atifa was excited to finish 12th grade and go to college. Then, the Taliban took over Afghanistan last summer. As a young woman in the country, she knew her days of schooling were likely coming to an end. Atifa, her siblings, and their mother fled to the United States seeking a better and safer life.
Thanks to you, the family settled in Houston and is adjusting to their new home. Atifa just graduated from high school and plans to study law in college.
“I had a lot of friends and classmates who are super intelligent, and they had the ambition to be a doctor or engineer,” Atifa said. “They did really hard work, but when the Taliban came, they just sit at home and cannot even go to school. That was really sad for me.”
Because of you, Atifa and her family were provided with help receiving work authorization, food assistance, and rent as they settled into a new life. Your generosity has helped so many Afghan families like theirs after they fled an unimaginable situation last summer.
“When we first arrived to Houston, we didn’t know anything,” Atifa said. “Everything was totally new for us. New life, new education, new everything. Everything was kind of confusing for us. It was Catholic Charities that helped us.”
Atifa knows if she had stayed in Afghanistan, her schooling likely would have ended. With your help, she was able to complete her senior year in just four months. She is now chasing her dream of being a lawyer, just like her mother.
“I’ve seen people’s situations and they need help. My mom was also a lawyer and it has been my ambition since childhood to be a lawyer to help people.”
Help an Afghan family build a new life of self-sufficiency!
