Afghan Response
60,000 is the estimated number of Afghan refugees who are resettling in the U.S.—the largest influx of refugees from one ethnic group since Vietnam. At least a third are school-aged children.
Welcoming them is about more than providing shelter and food. It is about helping them find a sense of belonging and safety.
We have the power to make it a little easier for the thousands of Afghan children we are welcoming to safety. Fugees Family is ready to mobilize the kind of support that we KNOW can make a difference.
We’re offering to place full-time Fugees Corps Members—cultural brokers from our own Afghan-American alumni network, trained and supported by Fugees Family—into school districts to support new Afghan arrivals and deliver after-school programming like soccer and arts education grounded in the Fugees model.
We need to invest in people—and we need your help.
It’s time to roll up your sleeves, to mobilize your friends, to stop thinking that the problem is too big for you to make an impact. Because it’s not.
We invite you to think of the gift you make today as an investment in the future of our country. This is the way we make things better, together.
Donate now to maximize your impact and make Afghan Response a reality.
In August 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, prompting tens of thousands of Afghans to flee the country. Many of these are children.
Children who have experienced war and displacement like those arriving from Afghanistan suffer from very recent trauma that can often lead to feeling isolated and afraid in the American K-12 school system. We can and we must do right by these children. It starts with education.
Our efforts to scale the Fugees-model to school districts with newcomer centers beginning in 2022 is already underway, and the Afghanistan crisis presents a clear and present need for dozens of communities across the U.S. that will very soon experience an unprecedented influx of new Afghan arrivals.
Fugees is ready to heed the call from districts and can help complement the vital work of resettlement agencies to successfully welcome Afghan students and families into their new schools by assigning them a Fugees Corps member and providing them with tailored academic resources, lessons, and training. We are inviting five school districts who are expecting at least 40 new Afghan students to enter their schools to partner with us for the 2021-2022 school year.
Fugees Corps
Drawing from Fugees’ own Afghan-American alumni and extended network, Fugees Corps members will become an integral part of the school based team in each district, exclusively dedicated to the success of new Afghan students.
They are trained in:
- Refugee centric, trauma-informed approaches to academic and mental health concerns
- Delivery of afterschool programming like soccer and STEAM
- Building community connections and acting as a liaison between resettlement agencies and organizations, schools, and families
Refugee Education 101
At Fugees, our team of educators are subject-matter experts and thought leaders in a field essentially created by Fugees Family– refugee centered education. Together, our team will provide consultations and coaching for school leaders and teachers including:
- Access to Fugees’ library of refugee centered education solutions, strategies, and resources
- Virtual office hours and responsive help desk support
- Site visits and direct services from Fugees’ team of experts
- Professional Development Opportunities that include:
- Introductions to Afghanistan (culture, language, politics, and people)
- Creating safe and inclusive classrooms
- Culturally sensitive and trauma-informed instruction
- Holistic English Language Acquisition
- Successful strategies for family and community engagement