Imagine your family being forced to flee your home and relocate to a new country due to poverty, war, famine, violence, persecution or other terrible suffering and arriving with little more than the clothes on your backs. You might not know anyone or even speak the language. You certainly wouldn’t have food, toiletries or anything to set up a home, and there isn’t much help available. In the US, refugees are provided with just 90 days of assistance from government-appointed resettlement agencies and very little financial aid. Not enough to get settled in a home and begin a new life.

One of our partners, Immigrant & Refugee Outreach Center (IROC), helps to fill in these gaps, providing assistance for refugee families who relocate to the Maryland/ DC/ Virginia region.

KPC Buddhist Relief is in regular contact with IROC to determine their needs. We then donate specifically what’s requested. We rely on your donations to purchase these items.

Today we learned that in just the last 30 days IROC has added 73 Afghan refugee families, and they provided us with this list of items needed:

Laundry baskets & detergent

Trash bags

Shampoo & conditioner

Liquid body soap

Feminine pads

Moong dal & Masoor dal

Chickpeas

Basmati rice

Sugar

Baking powder & Baking soda

Salt & Ground pepper

Cumin seeds & powder, turmeric, coriander seed & powder

Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee

Baby milk powder

Cookies & crackers

Cereal

Pots and pans

Utensils

Tea kettles

Air mattresses

Cleaning supplies

We’d like to deliver the items to IROC by July 14th. Please help us help them by making a donation below.

You can also bring in-kind donations of the items listed above to the front porch of KPC Buddhist Temple in Poolesville, MD. Donated items must be new and unused.

All donations offered to KPC Buddhist Relief are fully tax-deductible.

Thank you for being part of this giving chain!

We must continue to make every day special for all of those in need.