We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Two local non-profit organizations are helping newly arrived Afghan families to resettle in Northern Virginia. VOA’s Zheela Noori has more.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptTV Afghan Refugees – Virginia Volunteers- Noori
HEADLINE: Northern Virginia Volunteers Help Afghan Refugees Furnish Their Houses
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 2/17/2022 AT 8AM
BYLINE: Zheela Noori
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Hoshang Fahim
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT WRITER: Roshan Noorzai
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st), MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
l | VOA Afghan Service
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:52
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Two local non-profit organizations are helping newly arrived Afghan families to resettle in Northern Virginia. VOA’s Zheela Noori has more on this.]]
((NARRATOR))
Every afternoon, volunteers in Springfield, Virginia gather to coordinate and distribute furniture to refugees settling in the area.
This furniture is for newly arrived Afghan refugees.
The non-profit group - Northern Virginia Resettling Afghan Families Together, or RAFT - has been helping refugees in this area for years.
((Daniel Altman, RAFT Founder)) ((Male in English)))
“So, when the crisis began in August, we felt terrible like everybody else. We are trying to find something positive that we could do. The thing that made the most sense was to get with our neighbors, and people in our community to figure out the best way to welcome new Afghans arriving here from the crisis.”
((NARRATOR))
Zohra is one of the tens of thousands of Afghans who were evacuated by the United States when Kabul fell.
She lives in Virginia now, and volunteers are helping furnish her new apartment.
Zohra, who asks not to be filmed, says some immigrants must sleep on the floor for days, and sometimes even weeks.
((Voice of Zohra, Afghan Refugee)) ((Female in Dari))
“I was in a military base for 55 days, and after I was in a hotel. A week later I found a place and moved to an empty apartment. But because our apartment was totally empty, I reached out to this agency, and I told them my apartment is empty and could I at least get some furniture so that I can settle.”
((NARRATOR))
Marjan Darab is a volunteer with Fresh Start, a non-profit organization run by Afghan Americans.
((Marjan Darab, Fresh Start)) ((Female in English))
“This is a personal task for us. We like to make connections with these families and these individuals, and you know kind of get to know them and let them know our community here in the Northern Virginia area is helpful. We are here for them. We are supportive of them.”
((NARRATOR))
About 60 volunteers help furnish at least two apartments per week.
Some volunteers devote more than 40 hours every week assisting newly arrived refugees.
((Julian Muller, Local Synagogue Volunteer)) ((Female in English))
“I started off by giving a ride to a young woman, a young girl, to be tested for English proficiency for high school and that led to my doing about 40 to 60 hours of work a week as a volunteer with them, everything from providing rides or what kind of furniture people need in their apartments.”
((NARRATOR))
Volunteers with both non-profits groups also help newly arrived Afghans get a driver's licenses, laptops to learn English, and register their children in schools.
((Zheela Noori – VOANEWS - Springfield, Virginia))
NewsML Media TopicsPolitics, Human Interest
Topic TagsAfghan Refugees
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 17, 2022 15:06 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
