Refugee organizations say they’re seeing a surge of donations for Afghans
Evacuees from Afghanistan walk to a bus at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Sept. 6. (Michael Blackshire/The Washington Post)
Leaders of several refugee resettlement organizations say money and resources have been flooding in from across the country to assist Afghan evacuees who helped American forces during the two-decade war.
The flow of donations has been a welcome surprise for these organizations. The number of refugees admitted to the country was slashed under President Donald Trump by more than 80 percent. Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service had closed more than a third of its offices and laid off or furloughed workers, moves it attributed to Trump’s policies and the pandemic.
But LIRS president and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah estimated the organization has raised $1.8 million over the past month; she said it raised $25,000 in August 2020. The organization’s office space is covered “wall to wall” with diapers, kitchenware and school supplies, she said. One pastor recently drove four hours from Roanoke to the LIRS office to drop off a van-load of supplies.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Vignarajah said. “The outpouring of support we’ve seen … feels unprecedented and awe-inspiring. It feels like a unique moment.”
In the coming weeks and months, refugee resettlement agencies are expected to help tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees start new lives in the United States. Most have been sent to military installations to get medical checks and connect with resettlement organizations before moving to permanent homes in American communities.
In a typical week, LIRS would see maybe a dozen people sign up to volunteer. In the past three weeks, 45,000 people signed up. And LIRS has partnerships lined up with Airbnb for housing, Uber for transportation and Walmart for gift cards.