Standing Up for Our Afghan Allies The History, Challenges andFuture of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program
https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Afghan%20SIV%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf
LEARNING BRIDGE - tutoring and mentoring
We are now offering tutoring and mentoring for school age kids 5pm - 7pm Mondays at our Bridge Builders Center 227 W Douglas Ave. El Cajon, CA 92020.
For more info write us at info@bridgebuildersnetwork.org
News about Afghans in the USA
Challenges facing Afghan resettlement in Houston is much like San Diego and Austin read article
We have over 2500 Afghans in San Diego and many are still in hotels. We have been taking them food, clothing, diapers, bicycles, listening to their stories, and making them feel welcome…
https://www.kpbs.org/news/national/2022/03/15/thousands-of-afghan-refugees-are-still-living-in-hotels-while-they-wait-for-housing
We are Seeking Corporate Sponsors for our providing help and services to newly arriving Afghan families
Seeking Corporate Sponsors
FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP RESCUE FAMILIES STUCK IN AFGHANISTAN at our NOVEMBER 30, 2021 IN-PERSON BRIEFING
Please come to our seminar led by a local immigration law firm on how to help our Afghan neighbors bring family members out of Afghanistan and into the USA.
DATE: Tuesday November 30
TIME: 6:30 - 8:00
LOCATION; 227 West Douglas Ave EL Cajon, CA 92020
FOR MORE INFORMATION: info@bridgebuildersnetwork.org
Sponsor An Afghan Family in Your Community
Your church, mosque, synagogue, business, or any association can sponsor a family from Afghanistan who needs to flee to safety. Take the lead in your community to start the process of welcoming a family in need. This family will be forever grateful for your love and care. Website link to Sponsor Circles here.
Seminar: Understanding the Current Legal Process for Immigration and Sponsorship for Afghans
Bridge Builders Network will be hosting a special seminar for Afghans and Americans interested in sponsoring families. A local immigration law firm will lead the discussion and seek to answer any questions about SIV visas, Humanitarian Parole, P-2 visas, asylum claims, as well as information about sponsoring Afghan families to come to the US. MONDAY NOVEMBER 15 6:30 - 8:00 PM, 231 West Douglas Ave El Cajon, CA. For more information contact us by email.
Welcoming Afghans update 10/16/21
More and more families are arriving from Afghanistan to San Diego County every day now and we are responding. Activities based out of our Center currently include: separate ESL classes for both men and for women twice a week, weekly food distribution to needy families, home visits with welcome baskets, collecting and distributing bedding and personal care products, and providing help with paperwork for local Afghans seeking visas for family members still back in Afghanistan. Upcoming plans include providing bi-lingual help for children and youth with navigating the educational system here, including how to use computers and chrome books. Please let us know if you would like to help support any of these efforts.
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From An English Friends Participant
“English Friends has provided a great opportunity for me to continue to reach the world while living in my home country. I’ve been an immigrant to other nations and know what a huge difference a warm welcome and hospitable people make to the process of learning culture and language and feeling ‘at home’. It is great to think that I might help someone else not feel so isolated or lonely. I’ve only been meeting with my friend a short while, and though communication can sometimes be a struggle, we get there with the help of Google translate or, if her children are around, they act as translators. My friend tells me that since living in the USA for 6 years, I’m her first American friend. I understand that her experience is shared by many international students and immigrants alike and it is a huge missed opportunity to enjoy relating with and understanding a person from another culture.” K.B.
Majority of Americans think we should resettle at least 95,000 refugees
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chantaldasilva/2021/06/14/majority-of-americans-think-us-should-resettle-at-least-95000-refugees-per-year-poll-finds/?sh=52460a3520d8
From one of our participants: Building Friendships During a Pandemic
I have been meeting with my friend for about a year now. We had just started to become acquainted when Covid hit. It seemed rocky at first, but gradually we truly became friends as we spent time on the phone just getting to know each other. I was able to visit the family once before we clearly understood that we were not supposed to meet. It was a happy time, with much food and story-telling.
She asks me questions about products, food and customs. I ask her questions about Syria and cooking. Both my friend and her husband are wonderful cooks. I have tried to encourage her when she was having trouble with past trauma and current circumstances. She said that I always give her hope. I was able to visit last Christmas. I brought dinner and chocolate. The whole family was sick with Covid. She said that it was great because she wouldn’t have to cook when she could hardly get out of bed. She sent me a Christmas present as a way to say thanks. We haven’t been able to get together as much as we would like – we are all very busy - but we look forward to spending some time together this summer.
I am very pleased that Bridge Builders created the English Friends program. It is a wonderful way to reach out to our Syrian neighbors. But it is much more than that. For me personally, it has brought me new friends and a family with which to love and share my life. It has opened doors of understanding and added richness to us both. Thanks Bridge Builders! ( from CB )
Sponsoring a much needed school
We are now planning to sponsor a school for up to 60 young children in a very poor village in Syria where there is no school. We are also distributing food packages to families in that village and hope to see this become an ongoing program. Stay tuned for updates and contact us if you are interested in helping sponsor these young children in school, or our food distribution efforts in that village.
Help for Doha
This is five year old Doha. She lives with her displaced family in a refugee camp in a neighboring country. She is not able to use her arm because she was badly burned and needs surgery. Thanks to your help, we have recently sent funds to her family to provide an initial surgery.
Adnan Update
Our team was able to find a local eye doctor and hospital to see Adnan and do several tests. We are awaiting word on the next steps for him.
HOPE FOR VULNERABLE FAMILIES
A Trauma Informed Program of Caring and Connecting in Response to COVID-19
Our Vision
Working in partnership with our local Syrian friends who have been resettled as refugees here among us, to see the love of Christ expressed in word and deed to their family members who remain in Syria and unsettled in neighboring countries, suffering ongoing hardships from years of conflict in their homelands, and now a worldwide pandemic.
We have identified many families in need who are in Syria and some in Lebanon, severely impacted by the explosion in Beirut on August 4th. We have local partners there on the ground who are already helping whom we are supporting. Our focus today is on on emergency medical needs, food, and families suffering from hunger.
YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED TODAY to help us serve vulnerable families struggling today in Syria and Lebanon. (Donation info is on this page). Or contact us at info@bridgebuildersnetwork.org.