Latest Updates on Afghan Arrivals
Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Building Wellness and Community
Our office, Church World Service (CWS) Harrisburg, which is part of CWS South Central Pennsylvania, has been up and running for about a year and half now. Within that time, we have created strong partnerships and connections to community groups, educational institutions and mental health professionals. Those clients presenting urgent mental health concerns identified during the resettlement period within 90 …
Giving Back and Growing Hope on World Refugee Day: Javid’s Story
This past week ahead of World Refugee Day, I visited our local resettlement office in Harrisonburg, Virginia. While there I got the opportunity to meet with clients and volunteers and hear countless inspiring stories from our refugee clients like Javid from Afghanistan. Javid was born in Kabul, and completed his high school education before receiving a scholarship to study in …
A journey of co-sponsorship with an Afghan family
In a small Connecticut town, a group of five dedicated women came together under the DARA co-sponsorship team in Danbury, Connecticut. Their mission was to support and guide newly arrived refugees in rebuilding their lives in the United States. With each passing day, their workload seemed to multiply, but they embraced the challenge with unwavering commitment. As one of the …
What a Difference a Year Brings
One year ago, Najiba, a young mother of 6-month and 3-year-old girls, was preparing to leave the mountainous hamlet in Afghanistan, where she’d lived her entire life. Left behind would be her widowed mother and a brother who has a disability. Another brother would soon escape to Iraq. Soon Najiba would be joining her husband, Naser, a security guard for …
From Kabul to CWS Paralegal: The Story of Samir.
It was a beautiful spring morning in Greensboro, North Carolina, as we sat in the office of Church World Service. Looking out of the window, the tulip magnolia trees were in bloom, decorating the skyscrapers of Greensboro and roads that stretch as far as our eyes could reach. Sitting with us that day was an Afghan national and a CWS …
CWS Named National VOAD Member of the Year
For Immediate Release: May 4, 2022 CWS Named National VOAD Member of the Year Baltimore, MD– Church World Service has been named the 2022 National VOAD Member of the Year. The honor was announced last night, as part of the National VOAD conference in Baltimore Maryland. National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, or VOAD, is a coalition of 70+ of …
From Kabul to CWS Case Manager in Miami. Here is the story of Shukria.
Remember the shocking footage we have all seen on televisions as Kabul fell and Afghans desperately hung onto U.S. military jets for dear life, some dropping to their death? For those of us who watched from afar, the footage was nothing less than a nightmare and a heartbreak. But Shukria was at the airport and remembers the terrifying moments as …
TPS for Afghanistan is a Welcome Step toward Upholding Promise to Protect Afghan Evacuees
TPS for Afghanistan is a Welcome Step toward Upholding Promise to Protect Afghans CWS urges the Biden administration to expedite access to protection for at-risk Afghans left behind and work with Congress on a pathway for permanent residency for Afghan evacuees Washington, D.C.—In response to the Biden administration granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Afghanistan, preventing deportation of thousands of …
First-Ever Partnerships Created Among Service Organizations and Resettlement Agency to Resettle Afghan Families
For Immediate Release: January 18, 2022 First-Ever Partnerships Created Among Service Organizations and Resettlement Agency to Resettle Afghan Families Church World Service and Welcome.US to partner with diverse service and relief organizations, including Islamic Relief USA, Lions Clubs International, and Samaritan’s Purse to resettle thousands of Afghans WASHINGTON, DC – Today CWS, Welcome.US, and iconic service and relief organizations with …
CWS to Open New Offices and Programs to Welcome Refugees and Afghan Evacuees Across Nation
New York City—Church World Service today announced that it will open new offices and programs in 10 sites across the nation to welcome Afghan evacuees and refugees rebuilding their lives in the United States via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As one of the nine U.S. resettlement agencies, CWS is expanding its capacity for welcome, responding to the worst displacement …