The refugees are coming from various U.S. military bases where they have been since leaving Afghanistan.
MOLINE, Ill. — World Relief Quad Cities is preparing for Afghan refugees to arrive in the Quad Cities. The organization is planning on accommodating 175 refugees here in the Quad Cities.
To prepare, they find housing and set it up with everything the refugees could need.
Jerry Myers is the donations coordinator, tasked with picking up donations and helping to set them up in the new apartments and houses. He says it’s really a little bit of everything, from kitchen supplies, to a couch and a bed, to a tv and cleaning supplies.
“We get their home ready for a brand-new life,” Myers said. “I think of it as my own house. Just what would I like to walk into? So, when they walk in they feel safe, like this is your space, this is your home.”
World Relief helps find housing, but also helps the refugees through an intense program that evaluates what they did in their home countries, teaches them how to use public transportation, enrolls the kids in school, evaluates what languages they can speak and more.
“Afghans are refugees, they arrive with what’s on their back,” says Laura Fontaine, the director of World Relief Quad Cities, “So they don’t have family pictures, they don’t have their dishes, prayer rugs, anything.”
The refugees are currently being processed on military bases across the United States from as far away as Texas and Virginia, and as close as Wisconsin.
“They do background checks, biometrics, medical, everything,” Fontaine said. “Interviews happen usually in a home country or the refugee camp but are now happening in our country. So, it’s just taking a lot longer. Everybody’s being vetted.”
But once they are, it’s a very quick transition. The government has a goal to get 43,000 Afghan refugees off of the U.S. military bases and into housing by Thanksgiving.
“We find out 48 hours before they get here. So right now we’re just trying to secure all housing possible,” Fontaine said.
It’s what she says is the biggest obstacle, with some refugees coming alone, and others coming in families as big as 12 so far.
All the work put in to make these refugees feel safe and at home.
“They feel safe again, they feel good. It’s turning a house into a home,” Myers said.
World Relief Quad Cities is always looking for donations. You can find more information about how to donate household goods here.