BONUS #5 - "You Feel Like You are Part of the Solution..."

In our final bonus episode, host Andrea Smardon talks to one of the founders of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, the all-volunteer group that supports Sima and other veterans of the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon as they rebuild their lives in the U.S.

Co-founder Scott Bailey talks about how it all started with a conversation among concerned friends in church and shares the secrets to their organization’s success - how regular citizens without any prior experience pulled together to form a community of support. He says it’s not about being "helpers," but being "partners." And he talks about the rewards that partnership offers for everyone involved.

For more, including pictures, visit us at kslpodcasts.com.

For more on Scott's volunteer organization Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, visit blacksburgrefugeepartnership.org.

Stranger Becomes Neighbor is a production of KSL Podcasts.

We saw it on the news. The images still haunt us.

Two years ago this month, a desperate sea of humanity rushed the Kabul airport as the American military started mass evacuations in Afghanistan. Many were left behind to face the Taliban, while some escaped to countries like Iran and Pakistan. 

For over 80,000 refugees, America is now home. Their lives continue, but our news feeds have moved on, blasting stories about today’s crisis-du-jour. Now these evacuees live beside us, trying to make ends meet, find housing, gain acceptance, adapt to a new culture, and become valued members of our communities.

In Stranger Becomes Neighbor, we follow them. And we meet the Americans who have chosen to help their new neighbors. Like the stay-at-home mom who convinces a neighbor to rent out their basement to a pregnant Afghan woman, then finds herself helping to deliver the baby. Like a young widow who served in a secret pro-American unit of the Afghan military and now struggles to find childcare so she can work at Walmart.

Their stories – and the heartbreaking stories of loved ones left behind – inspire us to discover the hope and triumph of the human spirit.

What can one person do to help a stranger? 

We find out on a new podcast from KSL Podcasts, the people who brought you Cold and The Letter.

Coming soon, Stranger Becomes Neighbor