LIRS on NPR: Protecting and Caring For Afghan Refugee Children
NPR’s Scott Simon talks with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service about how the organization is helping Afghan refugee children resettle in the U.S.
Interview Highlights
- Over 40% of the more than 50,000 Afghan refugees processed at U.S. military bases were children.
- The majority of Afghan refugee children arrived with their family, but many children were evacuated as unaccompanied children.
- These children have experienced various degrees of serious and life-changing trauma. They have left family and the only home they’ve ever known behind; in addition, they’re navigating a new life and a new language.
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is providing therapeutic care and mental health services. The organization also recruits, trains, and supports foster families to care for unaccompanied Afghan refugee children.
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