HOUSTON — Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston is preparing to resettle as many as 2,500 Afghan refugees over the next several months.
Interfaith Ministries is reportedly one of five organizations in the Greater Houston area that will help to resettle refugees. Because some refugees will not immediately have a visa status that will allow them to receive U.S. government benefits, Interfaith Ministries is relying on donations from the community.
Everything from food to furniture is needed.
“So this is just a sampling of all of the supplies,” said Brooke Parkinson as she guided KHOU 11 into a supply storage room inside Interfaith Ministries headquarters at 3303 Main Street in Houston.
Parkinson is the director of Volunteer Houston, an organization within Interfaith Ministries.
Parkinson said if Afghan refugees can get enough help they can become self-sufficient within the first nine months of moving to Houston.
In addition to supplies, Volunteer Houston is looking for people who can serve as mentors or ambassadors to refugees.
“It can be transformative for both the volunteer and the refugee families who are coming. They’re coming to a brand new world that they know nothing about,” Parkinson said. “So we’re welcoming them as humans,” into a whole new culture.
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR AFGHAN REFUGEES
- SIM cards
- Grocery cards for Fiesta or Walmart
- Laptops or Amazon tablets
- Rugs
- Flat screen TV
- Culturally appropriate clothing
- Tea sets
- Cookware (new, big cooking sets)
- New children's toys or bicycles
- Shoes
- Uber vouchers
- Funds for home internet at least 90 days coverage
Interfaith Ministries and Volunteer Houston request that all items be new or gently used. Items can be dropped off at the downtown office at 3303 Main Street in Houston from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday. When you arrive, please press the call button located in the garage or at our front entrance and we will send someone out to collect the donations.
The donations will fill more than 100 apartment units centrally located in southwest Houston.
Kamil Khan, community engagement coordinator for Interfaith Ministries, explained why.
”One, affordability. Two, access to transportation, and three, because there’s already an immigrant and refugee population here," Khan said.
Khan, who immigrated to Houston from Pakistan when he was just 8 years old, understands the importance supplies and support can play in the resettling process.
“It takes a whole village to resettle these refugee families, and Houstonians have always historically always answered the call," he said.