As a people who know the story of refugees forced to leave a land they have called home, it is our duty to welcome the stranger. With thousands of refugees forced to flee Afghanistan, Stephen Wise Temple is sponsoring sponsoring one such Afghan refugee.
Working with the U.S. State Department through a HIAS program called Welcome Circles, Stephen Wise Temple’s Center for Tikkun Olam and the Wise community are sponsoring a refugee seeking to start her life anew, and continue her education in the United States. The week of April 11, that refugee—a 24-year-old college-educated, English-speaking woman, fully vetted by the State Department—will be arriving in Southern California. Before COVID, she had already begun her master’s degree, and would like to continue her education here.
As her sponsoring organization, Wise has committed to helping her get started in the United States, and we need your help. She is still in need of temporary housing, furnishings, clothing, and monetary support so that she can pursue her education.
Please reach out to Rabbi Ron Stern if you have resources that can help us secure these necessities for our newly-arrived guest.
About HIAS Welcome Circles: With approximately 45,000 Afghan men, women, and children living on seven military bases around the United States, there is a need to mobilize all the community resources to help guide these refugees through their early days and months in the U.S. These families need assistance so they can start their new lives in their new American communities.
Resettling so many people in a short period of time is unprecedented in recent history and has strained the U.S. resettlement system, so a solution known as Sponsor Circles is being pioneered across the United States. With deep experience in refugee resettlement and honed strategies for educating, organizing, and mobilizing the Jewish community, HIAS launched HIAS Welcome Circles, a network of Afghan sponsor circles.