Between Two Worlds

An Afghan ally overcomes obstacles for the sake of his family’s future

His Story

After almost 20 years of dedicated service alongside American military forces in Afghanistan, Client #38 was forced to flee and leave everything behind when the Taliban regained control. He made his way to the United States alone seeking safety, but with a plan to earn enough money to eventually bring his wife and 7 children to safety too.

To make it to and from work, our friend walked 2-3 hours each day. On days where it was raining or the heat was unbearable, he used rideshares, which meant the pay from the first hour of his shift was claimed before he’d even earned it. Living in Dallas alone and without much English, it was hard to make connections, and he had no friends to call for a ride or a back-up if Uber didn’t show up.

Through Mosaic Family Services, a refugee support agency in DFW, our friend has been able to make connections, find community and receive advocacy for our program. with a car, he will be able to extend his hours at work, save money to send to his family, and have time and ability to pursue community opportunities that will let him fully integrate into his new life in the United States.

The Giveaway

On the morning of the giveaway, we collectively expressed a huge “thank you” for everything our friend has sacrificed for the sake of American servicemen and servicewomen. We also gave him a gift of a Bible in his “heart language”, to be a source of hope and encouragement in the challenging days ahead.

The vehicle we were able to offer our friend was a sporty little Chevrolet Cobalt with a manual transmission. There’s a space on our application where applicants can indicate if they are able to drive a stick, and, let’s just say that box rarely gets checked.

The donor of this particular vehicle had found OnRamp DFW through a Reddit forum because she was looking for a place to donate her vehicle where it would actually be used by someone in need. Thank you to whoever told her about OnRamp DFW, and thank you to this generous donor who wanted to sacrifice to help a neighbor!

It took a while to find the right person, but the Cobalt was a perfect fit for what our client needed. When we asked him again, to make sure, that he was able to handle a manual, he said one of my favorite lines ever:

“I can drive anything except an airplane.”

💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

Photography by Jon Dunlop