January: Nadia’s Story Continued

Nadia and her four children (Sudais, Taib, Mobara and Asra) continue to get settled in Charleston while waiting to hear if they will gain asylum status and are evaluating every avenue to get her husband, Fraidoon, out of Afghanistan. In January, Bruce McAdams and Coleman Legerton took Nadia and the children to Atlanta for their interview at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Nadia and her immigration attorney felt the meeting went well and we are all eager to hear when asylum status has been granted.

Dedicated volunteers from MPPC and Providence Church on Danial Island continue to provide necessary transportation to work, daycare, medical appointments, etc. as well as offer English lessons to Nadia and Taib, her second grader who is struggling with reading. Both congregations have also been very generous with their donations to the Refugee fund which is helping Nadia pay her monthly expenses.  

Nadia’s road to self-sufficiency is a long one and thankfully we also have Lutheran Services of the Carolinas as our partner. Nadia’s caseworker is incredibly dedicated to helping her in all aspects of resettlement.  Bruce McAdams and Maryanne Davis have been meeting with Nadia and her team at Lutheran Services to identify her most pressing concerns as well as goals and steps to move forward. Right now Self Help/Mental Health, Housing and Financial Stability are her three main focus areas. We understand each of these are huge and will take many years to accomplish but also are helping Nadia see the thousands of baby steps that are necessary to help her down the path to self-sufficiency.

We continue to be amazed at Nadia’s strength and courage to leave her husband, her support system and everyone/everything she knew and get on a plane with 4 children, the youngest was only 15 days old!  She is an incredible example of self-sacrifice to provide a better life for your children. We who are walking along side Nadia and her children as they cope with building a life here away from her husband and the rest of her family, feel a great joy in helping and providing support as we are able. Nadia constantly says how grateful she is for everything we are doing to help.   

Transportation for her and the children to work and daycare and medical appointments is a great need. If you would like to take part in occasionally providing rides or want to learn more about how you might be able to help Nadia, please contact Bruce McAdams at mcadams.bruce@gmail.com or 843-364-7131.  

Join us in praying for Nadia and her children as they make their way here, hoping for reunification with Fraidoon, husband and father.