The news of the crisis in Afghanistan has horrified almost everyone. We have watched the shocking footage of families, many with young children, fleeing their homes, leaving behind their belongings, their communities and their livelihoods to try and escape the Taliban regime.  

For several weeks now, CFAB has been receiving calls to our Advice Line about the crisis. Some from desperate Afghans looking for a way out of the country and some from worried relatives in the UK looking to find and protect their loved ones. We received one call from an Afghan man in the UK who was very concerned about his family in Kabul. One of his sisters was an undercover journalist and the Taliban had found his father guilty of sending his two sons to a foreign western country to study, and allowing his daughter to work for an anti-Taliban media company. The family was in hiding and the Taliban had already knocked on their door twice looking for the father.  

Whilst we are doing all we can to direct callers to gain the help they need, we are eager to use our expertise and existing projects in the UK to support Afghan families as they arrive and start their new lives here.  

We can only do this with your help. Can you help us by making a donation today?

How CFAB can help:

Expanding our Family Reunification Project

Our Family Reunification Project provides advice and practical and emotional guidance for refugee children and young people arriving in the UK to live with extended family. Set up in 2019, we have supported refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola and Kuwait.

Over the last two years, we have supported young people to access education and NHS mental health services; we have signposted families to legal advice and representation, as well as identifying local social support and activities. We have also successfully advocated and supported families to apply for benefits and appropriate housing.

Many of the refugees that we support have faced severe trauma and hardship before they have arrived in the UK. While their family members can certainly help to support them, we recognise that it can be overwhelming and confusing for everyone. Our aim is to provide support, knowledge and access to services to ensure they have the best chance of settling into their new life in the UK.  

We would like to expand this service to provide support for additional families who have arrived from Afghanistan to help them settle into their new lives in the UK.  

Providing ‘Saturday Surgeries’ for refugees

We would like to set up a new service to help support Afghan refugees by running regular ‘surgery sessions’ at our offices in central London at the weekend. Staffed by a social worker, we would like to run a drop in clinic in which newly arrived refugees can come to request help on a range of issues. While this would provide ‘light-touch’ support, it would allow us to offer support to a wider group of refugees and help to meet their immediate needs.  

Providing a work placement for an Afghan Refugee

We are currently looking for some additional administrative support within our Social Work Team and would like to explore the option of providing a work placement to an Afghan refugee. As well as providing an immediate income, this would also provide them with valuable work experience in the UK for future employment.  

We need your support

We will need additional funding to run all of these projects and would be very grateful if you would consider making a donation to CFAB.  

Please donate here.

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