From TalibanTaking office in Afghanistan earlier this month, organizations around the world have been working to address the country’s growing humanitarian emergency. While the United States is shooting to do so evacuation U.S. citizens and their allies, Department of Defense officials, said the United States will make room for up to 22,000 Afghan refugees at its military bases, but that capacity can be expanded if necessary.
Upon arrival in the United States, most refugees are sent to Fort Lee, Virginia, where they undergo health and background checks, according to the director of the Pentagon’s Afghanistan Crisis Action Group, Garry Reid. Several governors, including those of Arizona, California, Maryland and New York, have said they will host Afghan refugees in their states.
Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP
For more information on how you can help, here are three organizations that provide housing, transportation, and other assistance to Afghan people:
Lutheran social services
As of Aug. 23, Lutheran Social Services said it has worked to resettle more than 250 Afghans in the United States and expects a “steady and growing” number of referrals in the coming weeks.
Autumn Kendrick, a spokesman for nonprofits, said “the extraordinary help from the community” has made it possible to accommodate the recent influx of refugees. Uber and Lyft have provided free transportation for daily tasks, such as trips to the grocery store or job interviews. Airbnb he recently donated $ 70,000 for temporary reservations, Kendrick said.
“We are very humbled to be a part of this historic reception and to be able to provide housing, transportation and other basic needs to these new residents who are so happy to be here and have that security that they have not had before,” Kendrick told CBS News. “We’ve seen an emotionally overwhelming number of community support and that’s very good to see.”
Refugees are paired with a case manager “immediately” to help them secure long-term housing, transportation and food, Kendrick said. Over the course of three months, families are provided with health tests and language classes and children are enrolled in K-12 public schools. The group also helps them enroll in government programs to which they may be eligible, including Social Security and Medicaid.
The organization has asked for volunteers to help with transportation from the airport and temporary accommodation for refugees in homes while waiting for their own long-term accommodation. The nonprofit also solicits cash donations, as well as household supplies, laptops, gift cards, and school supplies to drop off at designated locations.
Islamic Relief USA
Islamic Relief USA focuses its efforts on those who will remain in Afghanistan.
Christina Tobias-Nahi, communications director for Islamic Relief USA, told CBS News.
On August 17, Islamic Relief USA launched an emergency call for millions of dollars in donations. The organization said it has field teams in Kabul, Balkh, Herat and Nangarhar to distribute basic necessities.
“We don’t support anyone to get out. That’s not the kind of work we do,” Tobias-Nahi said, adding that the evacuations are in the hands of partner organizations. “We are responding to internally displaced people and those who really cross borders and become refugees.”
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 270,000 Afghans have been internally displaced in the country since January 2021. A month ago, an estimated 18 million Afghans faced a ” dire humanitarian situation, “said Deborah Lyons, the secretary-general of the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan.
Islamic Relief USA has solicited monetary donations for emergency needs such as food, water, hygiene supplies and tents for people living in Afghanistan. Donors can choose where to send funds, whether to women, orphans, refugees or other groups. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, DC, also has offices across the country where volunteers can help assemble boxes of necessities, which are then sent to teams to distribute in Afghanistan.
No one was left behind
No One Left Behind is helping Afghans enter the United States. The group is working to accelerate the Special immigrant visa process, especially for allies of the war as interpreters. No One Left Behind also helps new refugees with emergency financial aid and used vehicles when they arrive in the US
“Thousands of eligible people who were in the system are still left behind,” former Afghan singer and program manager of No One Left Behind Ahmadullah Sediqi told CBS News’s Vladimir Duthiers.
Sediqi, who still has family in Afghanistan, said “it is a critical conflict situation.” She works to help other families evacuate without stopping to worry about theirs. He has advised his family and special visa holders of immigrants to stay at home unless an embassy official tells them otherwise.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Consular Affairs, it takes approximately 13 months to process a special immigrant visa in Afghanistan. No one left behind he said he hopes to “fix the State Department’s 14-step SIV process.”
“We promised them,” Sediqi said. “It’s time we kept our promise.”
No One Left Behind, along with the other two organizations that make up the Save Our Allies Coalition, has evacuated 5,289 people from Afghanistan to date. The organization has requested monetary donations to help with the costs associated with obtaining more allies from the United States in Afghanistan.
“When we were in Afghanistan, the performers were a bridge between the U.S. government and the Afghan government, U.S. civilians and Afghan civilians, but here, this organization works as a bridge between the performers’ families and you Janis Shenwari, co-founder of the organization, said in a statement. “We can’t do anything without your support.”