August 7, 2024

The Holy Comforter Refugee Ministry has been busy for nearly three years helping a small group of families who have fled violence and chaos in their home countries as they settle into our community. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of this ministry is to watch these families thrive with our love and help.

The Ministry came together informally in the fall of 2021, after Kabul fell to the Taliban and refugees from Afghanistan began arriving to our area. We rallied to help two families—the Jahids, consisted of a husband Jan, who had worked for the U.S.-supported government, his pregnant wife Parina, and two daughters under the age of five; as well as the Meherzads, Parina’s younger sister Rukhsar and her husband Omid. Months later we were called to help Bilal, a young Afghan man who arrived alone. Bilal speaks excellent English, and with our help he was able to finish high school, and now has a job and is taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College.

In late August 2023 we welcomed a family fleeing oppression and economic chaos in Venezuela—Josue Puerta, his common law wife Enma Montoya, and their four-year-old daughter Josnielys. And in January 2024 we welcomed the Menapals, who arrived from Afghanistan via Pakistan. The family consists of a widow and five children ranging in age from 10 to 19. The family patriarch worked for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, and then for the Afghan government, before he was slain by the Taliban six days before the fall of Kabul.

 Arriving at Dulles International Airport

Our main challenges in helping the new arrivals have been finding affordable housing, making sure they have access to healthcare, and helping them find employment. Varying levels of English proficiency, from zero to fluency, also are a complication, as is helping people with different cultural norms and expectations settle in our suburban northern Virginia community.

The Afghan families have a legal status that allows them to work in the United States and to receive some government benefits. The Venezuelan family, on the other hand, were undocumented but obtained Temporary Protective Status with our assistance. This allows them to remain in the U.S. legally and work, but with little access to healthcare. It's easy to forget how difficult simple things like enrolling the children in school, signing a rental lease, opening a bank account, and getting a driver’s license can be for a newcomer.

Girls having fun at a Holy Comforter picnic

The Refugee Ministry’s goal is to help these families economically for a limited amount of time as they find work and settle into their new lives. The first two families, the Jahids and the Meherzads, are mostly self-sufficient, as is Bilal. The Puertas are both employed; they receive help with English from Holy Comforter volunteers, as does their young daughter. The younger Menapal children, whose education was truncated by years of warfare, are eagerly absorbing new knowledge through the public school system; the 19-year-old son recently started a part time job.  

In recent weeks we have also helped address the urgent needs of a young Afghan couple with a baby, in collaboration with others in the Vienna community. Looking to the future, this ministry is working to help bring relatives of the first Afghan families as well as a Haitian family to safety here in the U.S.

Of course, our love and moral support for these families continues as they have become part of our extended Holy Comforter family. One example: Enma and Josue will finally be able to do something that they’ve been postponing for years: marry. The wedding will take place at Holy Comforter on August 25 at 1:00 p.m. Parishioners are welcome to attend.