Afghan refugee family seeks help resettling in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas -- After arriving in the U.S. in September and spending months in a refugee camp a family of eight is moving into their new home here in El Paso.

The family, like many other Afghan refugees are moving here with just the clothes on their back. As they take their first steps into their house on Monday, they do so without beds to sleep on, couches to sit on and plates to eat off.

"They left their country that they'll probably never see again, family members that they will probably never see again," Veronica Frescas, the refugee resettlement program director for El Calavario UMC immigrant advocacy center said. "They're just starting new from scratch in a community that is foreign to them and in a nation that is foreign to them."

Frescas told ABC-7 while they have a house they're still so far from having a home.

Frescas is asking for the communities help in donations - from couches, kitchen tables, beds, household cleaning items, food and much more.

If you want to help you can call Frescas at 915-745-0204 or go to their website. Frescas also said that they need volunteers to help build furniture and move items into the house.

The family that has six kids aged 1-12 years old faces more challenges than just making their house a home - nobody in the family speaks any english.

"This particular family does not have that advantage so it really puts them in an even more vulnerable position than they're already in," Frescas said.

Frescas said the advocacy center will be helping 150 Afghan families or individuals resettle in Las Cruces and El Paso in the next few months.