Summer new arrival Refugees multiplied Saturday! 61 adults with many excited children from 40 families came for our special supplies and the heavy bag per family of more than 25 different hygiene supplies. We were amply ready for the total 160 refugees we served on their winding road.

A bumper crop of refurbished adult and kids bikes with new helmets and locks brought lots of joy. Seeing Afghan women and girls who can now ride energized our 9 Volunteers and 4 noon reinforcement helpers. So did the 20 laptop computers we gave in canvas satchels.

It was a 3-way tie for Best with our Sewing Station – 10 new, donated sewing machines, and several used machines meant we could almost meet the prize most Afghan women sought. With lots of generously donated bolts of fabric, scissors, spools of thread, needles and sewing notions, I could have hung out there to enjoy the masked smiles had I not been checking in so many lovely Refugee Brothers and Sisters!
Thanks to our four Afghan Translators and big hearted Volunteers who made this day possible. Caring Fairwood UMC Volunteers and others join SCM Medical Missions to surpass the offerings each week with surprise furnishings placed outside for new arrivals: dishes, cookware, glasses, platters, house furnishings, linens, rugs, strollers, etc. Much needed and appreciated.

The other important service here is listening to the Refugees’ resettlement concerns and sharing recommendations. This wasn’t built into the Center’s plan, but it’s grown among all Volunteers to ease the Afghans’ burdens. Whether for job searching, transportation, health contacts, rent questions, or problems, Volunteers make visits and continue helping families after the Center closes. It’s reassuring that the Refugees can call kind locals with their concerns. Though Summer’s arrival will soon conclude our assistance of supplies, we hope our impact improves many days to come for many Refugees!

So on we go. . . .

~Pamela, SCM Coordinator

Support SCM refugee programs by donating here: https://www.scmmedicalmissions.org/donations-listing/

Supplies were ready for our small crew of 10 Volunteers to hand out to 19 families. Afghan and some Syrian families were surprised by lots of dishes, pot and pans, bedspreads and sheets, and a variety of house furnishings that Volunteers secured and placed along the sidewalk for the taking. Inside, besides our usual many hygiene essentials, the 31 adults with their 10 children along, had a big selection of bicycles and bolts of beautiful fabrics. Sharing Wheels in Everett and Holy Spokes added to donations given from Bicycle Rescue for Youth to be ready for kids and adults seeking bikes, helmets, and locks.

Seeing uncertain Refugee faces, who enter the unfamiliar Refugee Center, brighten as they collect available supplies is really heartwarming. Eight-year-old Hafizullah was serious, tentative, and looked just like his younger sister, until his wish to get a bicycle came true. As soon as he walked in the “bike parlor”, this quiet little boy spied the perfect red and white bike and grabbed it. He was pedaling in circles, whether he’d ridden before, or his guardian angel was by his side! Hafizullah was all smiles occupied by that perfect little bike. Good our Volunteer slowed him down long enough to adjust and fasten a red, child’s helmet safely on his head.

Stocking the sewing station is challenging. All week we search, spread the request to donate sewing machines and wait to see repairs that our station Lead can make used ones hum. We never have enough for all the Afghan women who need one, but this week bolts of donated fabric provided yards worth we could cut for them. Hopefully, more machines and much more thread, scissors and notions will get donated that we’ll enjoy giving to Moms.

As Memorial Day nears, we have one last Friday at the Center before we switch to Saturdays in June. Though we served a total of 68 Refugees, counting their children and spouses at home, it will be easier for more Afghan families to come on Saturdays. We hope that potential Volunteers who work during the week will be finally be able to help too. It’s definitely still much needed and heartwarming for givers and receivers alike!

~Pamela

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Thanks to our partners MCRC and Essentials First for all their help in gather donations and supplies for the center!

Shop for the refugees on our Amazon Wish List and have the items shipped directly to SCM.

If you have a sewing machine to donate (new or used in good working order), please contact us to arrange drop-off details.

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Announcement! Beginning on Saturday June 4th, our Refugee Center days at the Fairwood Community United Methodist Church will be on Saturdays rather than Fridays. This will give more people an opportunity to volunteer and the refugees who are working an opportunity to come in and get supplies they need.

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We are also in need of hygiene items ASAP:

~Underwear (Girls 8 and 4; Women’s 5,6,7; Men’s M, L, XL)
~Bottled or powder Laundry Detergent
~Brushes & Combs
~Baby Wash
~Spools of black & white Thread

If you have any of these items and wish to donate them please contact us for drop off information.

Neither Easter nor Ramadan slowed the stream of new Afghan Refugee parents and children. We were ready with provisions for Friday’s 20 families comprising 88 refugees of 42 adults and their 46 children. Met by 15 Volunteers, SCM Founder Rita and Translator Khayam, 32 parents with 14 kids came in the Center to receive lots of hygiene essentials, school supplies, computers, sewing machines and surprise Eid Celebration kits for children.

While we offer loads of clothes, when I think of the collections of “hygiene essentials” and the “Donors” (individual, nonprofit and corporate), it floods me with gratitude. This is kindness pouring out week after week because people really care about the plight and needs of the Refugees.

Our essentials for whole families: diapers; underwear; socks; baby wipes, wash, lotion and shampoo; adult body wash and bar soap; feminine sanitary pads; shampoo and conditioner; brushes and combs; toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss; deodorant; razors; reader glasses; nail clippers; cleaning products – bottles of liquid dish and laundry detergent, and cleanser. Sometimes we even have nail polish, cosmetics or jewelry to make the day a little brighter for the women.

This Hygiene Corner bulges with special extras: handmade quilts for the children, fabric “dolls for hope”; a big assortment of school supplies, color books, and often backpacks. Just past this station is a large toy area that includes stuffed animals and books that entertain children while parents get their “toys” – bicycles and helmets, laptops, or sewing machines, notions and fabric, depending on what Donors have sent us.

Committed Donors are Bicycle Rescue for Youth that serves Maple Valley and Issaquah, Covington Kiwanis Club, Sharing Wheels from Everett, Mel Nason’s Holy Spokes and Harvey’s Bike Shop in Lynnwood. Essentials First often helps us with hygiene products and joined in furnishing Eid Celebrations kits. For desperately needed laptops, Starbucks donated generously. Early learning KidsCentre in Seattle has showered us with school supplies and backpacks.

Equally impressive are places of worship who regularly contact us with help. This giving is matched by individuals who surprise us by quietly bringing needed items and gift cards, so we can replenish to meet the needs of all new arrival Afghan Refugees every week.

We can only say Thank You, Thank You to all who give and volunteer. Don’t forget them. And, don’t forget the needs of the Refugees!

~Pamela Van Swearingen, Coordinator