A movement of neighbors and friends dedicated to welcoming new arrival families into our community through inspired crowdsourcing solutions.
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L O O K
What does home look like? What things are around you in that place that is home? Do you feel a soft pillow? Are there pictures on the wall?
Can you tune into th mell of home? Perh he aroma of a favori omfort food cooking
What does home sound like? Whose voices do you hear? What language are they speaking? L I S T E N
Home is more than a physical space. Home is a feeling that awakens the senses. F E E L
When we welcome a family through Miry’s List, we become part of creating a feeling of home for another. I S N ’ T I T E X T R A O R D I N A R Y ?
Cover photo by David Haskell
C o n s i d e r t h i s y o u r
i n v i t a t i o n t o j o i n u s .
W E L C O M E T O O U R T A B L E
Every dollar donated is an investment in families.
2024 DEDICATION TO ANA HUNA
From Huda AbuGharbih, Director of Fa
Dear Friends,
My name is Huda AbuGharbih, and I am a mother of three, and a very lucky one at that! I have the privilege of serving as Director of Family Services at Miry’s List while also being present for my children. Sometimes I tell my friends about my job, and they’re a little jealous! It is a true honor that I get to follow my heart and care for others while my own kids grow and succeed.
This balance of family and meaningful work is a blessing I cherish every day.
I joined Miry’s List in 2017, first as a volunteer, and then becoming the first Miry’s List staff member. For me, this work is a continuation of what I began at UNHCR in Jordan. Both organizations share one mission: helping refugees. Here at Miry’s List, we call them our families, and we help them from our hearts. Miry’s List gave me a stable job, yes. But more so, Miry’s List gave me the chance to make my dream come true: helping families feel welcome, safe, and seen in this new country.
“Miry’s List changes lives in so many ways. We turn empty apartments into homes, giving families the freedom to choose what they need and making their space truly theirs. We build a community of volunteers, many of whom go on to help new arrivals themselves. “
-Huda AbuGharbih
Photo by Christina Gandolfo
Through SANAH, our online English program, families can learn at home, on their schedule, while taking care of their children.
And when it’s time to enter the workforce, we help families find jobs and build their independence. All of this makes Miry’s List unique and it is unlike anything most families have ever experienced before.
I want to tell you a story that stays in my heart. One Syrian family became close friends with me, Miry, and Christy. They had a beautiful daughter, Sanah, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
That story taught me something I try to remember every day: always be available for others. A simple presence, a hug, a listening ear, these small things can change lives.
And then there are the joyful moments, too—the week when a family gets their beds, toys, or other items, and you see their children’s faces light up. These are miracles made possible by all of you our donors, volunteers, and heroes. Without you, none of this could happen.
Because I love my job and being available to listen to the families, so many of whom just want someone to really hear them, I decided to take a professional course. Soon I will graduate as a counselor and professional life coach! I want to be there for our families in every way they need me. I love my team, and I am learning from them every single day.
I want you to know how much that means to me, and all of us at the Miry’s List team.
To our helpers: We honor you, you are our heroes. Your generosity, time, and care ensure that every new arrival feels the simple, powerful truth:
ANA HUNA ANA HUNA ANA HUNA
“I’m here” “I’m here” “I’m here”
Ana Huna, our slogan at Miry’s List, is two beautiful words in my native language Arabic, I’m here. Miry’s List is not just an organization. It is a network of hearts and hands, welcoming families into a new life.
From my heart, thank you for your dedication, your compassion, and your belief in this mission. Thank you for being huna, with y
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1 0 O U R M I S S I O N & A P P R O A C H
1 2 A N A H U N A
1 4 A L E T T E R
The Muradi family, new Angelenos from Afghanistan
Photo by David Haskell
A LETTER FROM MIRY
Dear Hive,
Grief cracked me open this year. Everything I had built seemed to collapse suddenly, leaving me untethered. One night, I told my sister, “I’m a balloon full of sawdust.” She said, “There’s sawdust inside, an important material!” Her quick, absurd reply gave me a thread to hold onto.
As I moved through my own labyrinth of loss, Ana Huna, Arabic for I’m here, became more than Miry’s List’s slogan. It became a practice. A reminder to show up for myself and meet every broken, messy, scared part of me with compassion.
Being here, fully, even when it hurts, is a kind of courage. It allows us to notice, to breathe, to meet one another where we are. It’s the same practice Miry’s List offers new arrival families each day: to be present, to be seen, to be welcomed, even when life has overturned everything familiar.
Imagine the feeling of arriving in a new country and opening the door to an empty apartment. Picture opening your door the next morning to find a mountain of packages waiting. Each box is a message of care with a gift of something you need to feel like yourself again: A tea kettle, a bed frame, a purple backpack…your daughter’s favorite color! Each package is a touchstone of connection and a reminder that you’re not invisible. You still matter.
I’ve learned that welcoming isn’t a single act. It’s a daily practice, built in quiet moments when we show up for one another in simple, genuine ways. I see it at our Supper Clubs, where families share recipes from home, children play together, and parents trade stories of where they’ve been, where they hope to go, and the world we hope to leave behind for our children. For a few hours, the weight of the world lifts, replaced by connection, recognition, and joy.
This is what our community does best. Volunteers, staff, families, neighbors: You show up, not for recognition, but because showing up matters. Through laughter and tears, mess and beauty, I keep learning that welcome, like healing, happens in the middle. In a shared meal, a gentle smile, in simple words. I see you. You’re not alone. I’m here.
Miry’s List isn’t just a lifeline for families, it’s a lifeline for all of us. It reminds me that being present, fully and vulnerably, is its own kind of love story. Thank you for being part of this community. Thank you for showing up, for giving, for believing that even the smallest acts of care ripple further than we can see.
It always matters.
Miry Whitehill Founder & Executive Director , Miry’s List
Welcome, like healing, happens in the middle. In a shared meal, a gentle smile, in simple words. I see you. You’re not alone. I’m here.
Founder Miry smiling big at the 2024 Dream Team Retreat at Polytechnic School in Pasadena
Photo by Christina Gandolfo
Each Miry’s List welcome kit reflects a family’s preferences, inviting a surprising, love-filled unboxing experience
WE ARE: WE ARE NOT:
A community-based support system for newcomers.
Helping our new arrival neighbors by building a supportive community around them.
Honoring the lived experiences of newcomers.
Benefitting from being part of the welcome experience for new arrivals.
A state-department licensed refugee resettlement agency.
Funded by or affiliated with the government.
Doing charity. This is our moral obligation.
Defining newcomers by their past lived experiences.
ABOUT MIRY’S LIST
Miry’s List is a support system intended to have a lasting impact on people’s lives - to be the difference for a resettling family between merely surviving and thriving.
We’re not a government refugee resettlement agency. We’re not just doing charity. We are fulfilling our moral obligation. We are a community support system for new Americans.
Miry's List Dream Team beaming at 8 Years of Miry's List anniversary celebration at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock in LA.
Photo by David Haskell
OUR MISSION OUR MISSION
The mission of Miry’s List is to improve the experience for new arrival families by filling gaps in the governmental system of support for refugees, and providing a mechanism for our community of supporters to directly help families with the things, people and programming needed to thrive in the United States.
O U R A P P R
Our signature approach rests on three pillars: Survive, Hive, and Thrive. Each is designed to help families feel safe, build connections, and reclaim their agency.
SURVIVE
First 30-60 days
RESPONDING TO URGENT NEEDS
Taking the time to learn about each families' most pressing needs for safety, function, rest, and comfort.
HIVE
Months 2-10
EXPAND THE SUPPORT NETWORK
Our helpers surround families with things, people and support needed to thrive in a new community.
THRIVE DEEPENING COMMUNITY ROOTS
Months 11-12
A sense of belonging is built through community service and continuing the cycle of giving.
Handmade friendship bracelets and welcome letters written for Miry’s List families by helpers from UGG Australia in 2024.
OUR SLOGAN
ANA HUNA ANA HUNA ANA HUNA
“I’m here” “I’m here” “I’m here”
In Arabic, ”Ana Huna” means “I’m here”
An announcement and practice of coming home to the self.
It’s a declaration: I’m here. We’re here. With ourselves, for one another.
We welcome you fiercely and with hope of a shared future
You are not alone
We stand beside you We celebrate you
It’s not just a handwritten letter. Not just a call at the end of a hard day. Not just a question, “how can I help?” Not just a gift at the door.
Not just a shared meal.
It is presence. It is belonging. It is saying to our newest neighbors: You are not alone. We stand beside you. We celebrate you. We welcome you fiercely and with hope for our shared future.
Ana Huna is our promise: to show up, to stay, to walk together.
Through Miry’s List, hundreds of thousands of donors, volunteers, and contributors come together to create a living support system for families resettling in the United States as refugees. Through hard days, difficult seasons, and overwhelming barriers, this community grows, offering stability, joy, connection, and gratitude.
Miry’s List is a reminder that arrival is not the end of a story, but the beginning of a beautiful new chapter.
Photo by Christina Gandolfo
FROM STRANGERS TO FRIENDS
By Lynn Renee Maxcy, Chair of the Board, Miry’s List
Dearest Hive,
Since 2023, I’ve been serving as Board Chair for Miry’s List. In my professional life, I’m a sci-fi and speculative fiction screenwriter. I write stories about families who have been displaced because of persecution and war, families forced to flee in the night, and families who still needed and deserved a safe place to belong.
In 2017, a friend who knew what I’d been writing invited me to “this thing in Eagle Rock to help support newly arrived Americans” and asked if I wanted to come. I said yes to this seemingly big, important, very serious thing, wanting to help in the real world but feeling uncertain. What was going to happen? Who was I going to meet? Would I have to talk to strangers?? (Have I mentioned I’m an introvert?)
I walked into what I later learned was the first New Arrival Supper Club for a brand-new organization called Miry’s List.
And far from a solemn, somber evening it was a PARTY. There was music, dancing, and so much joy. The kind of incredible food that makes me feel emotional. And it turned out that I didn’t have to talk to strangers. Instead, I enjoyed speaking with many new friends everyone there for one purpose: to contribute, each in their own way, to practical, individualized support, love, and community for our newly
arrived neighbors. And let me tell you - we DANCED. Even though the party ended, I never left.
This year, we celebrated Miry’s List’s 8th Birthday Party at the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock. We enjoyed an incredible Afghan feast made by Chef Aquila Asghary, listened to impactful speakers and great music, and made new friends.
Time will tell how this particular New Arrival Supper Club for Miry’s List’s 8th birthday might have set a new course for someone else walking in for the first time. Once you encounter the work of Miry’s List and the incredible community of New Arrivals making America their new home, it changes us for good. We invite you to the party.
With so much love,
The first Miry’s List New Arrival Supper Club, a backyard dinner celebration in Los Angeles on Valentines Day 2017
“Once you encounter the work of Miry’s List and the incredible community of New Arrivals making America their new home, it changes us for good.”
-Lynn
Renee Maxcy, Chair of the Board
Lynn Renee Maxcy, Miry’s List 2024 Chair of the Board, photographed by her adoring husband in London. Photo by Luke Maxcy
VOLUNTEERING WITH MIRY’S LIST
Each year, thousand of helpers give their time and talent towards welcoming newcomers with Miry’s List.
There are so many ways to jump in and help.
English tutor Susan visits Jamshid’s family. They met through the Miry’s List SANAH program
Each family receives welcome letters written by our amazing volunteers.
Multiple generations of the Shawkat family volunteer to help
Each family receives a handmade Welcome Blanket made by talented volunteers
WE BELIEVE
t h a t i n t e n t i o n a l ,
i n d i v i d u a l i z e d , a n d
i n t e n s e s u p p o r t p r o v i d e d
t o r e s e t t l i n g r e f u g e e
f a m i l i e s i n t h o s e d i f f i c u l t
f i r s t 1 2 - 1 8 m o n t h s l e a d s
t o b e t t e r o u t c o m e s f o r
t h e c o m m u n i t y a t l a r g e .
The work of Miry's List is an investment—in families, human beings, and new Americans. It's about investing in them upon arrival because the need is so great, and the impact is so real.
Families Welcome, a free community event at Annenberg Community Beach House, offers a multi-sensory learning experience about welcoming. Photo by Peter Bennett
T o g e t h e r A g a i n T o g e t h e r A g a i n
W h e n K a b u l
fe l l i n 2 0 2 1
to the Taliban, Ahmad Roman and his wife, Albina, rushed to the airport with their four young children and extended family—some who had worked for the U.S. Embassy. They were terrified for their safety.
Amid the chaos of thousands trying to flee, they suddenly couldn’t find their 8-year-old son, Uzair. Ahmad and Albina got off the plane to search, their daughter, Muhsenat, gripping her mother’s hand. Then, in the crush of people, they were separated.
By the time Uzair was found —already aboard a cargo plane with Ahmad’s brotherin-law holding baby Rahman —Albina and Muhsenat had been pushed beyond the gates. No one would let them through.
“Because of the kids, I need to take the plane,” Ahmad told his wife by phone.
“Yes, you have to take the plane,” she replied.
Ahmad and the boys arrived in Los Angeles through Operation Allies Welcome, but Albina and Muhsenat were left behind in Talibancontrolled Afghanistan.
“I cannot give them a hug.”
For nearly three years the Romans li sides of th began reb California applying f caring for Kabul, Alb joined fam whenever
“From one Albina told the other touch the them a hu
Under the for Albina was tightl “You’re a a woman, the freedo Albina said study bec You canno because y cannot wo They staye as possibl to the ban relative dr questionin authoritie
They are in my hug now. I just cry a lot, and all the pain come out.
- Albina Roman
On their first Mothers Day in the U.S., Albina and Muhsanat breathe easy together with their family.
Hope, paperwork, and
perseverance
In Los Angeles, Ahmad refused to give up. Working with Miry’s List, his immigration attorney, and U.S. Representative Tony Cárdenas, he filed every form available first through humanitarian parole, then through the I-730 asylum reunification process.
Each step was slow, opaque, and uncertain. Ahmad spent nights refreshing online portals to secure passports for Albina and Muhsenat and months emailing caseworkers for updates that rarely came. Still, he held on to hope.
“Miry’s List helped me every step,” Ahmad said. “They gave me the community and support I needed when I was alone.” Finally, in early 2024, his persistence paid off. With congressional help, Albina and Muhsenat secured U.S. visas. Traveling with Albina’s brother as a required male escort, they journeyed from Kabul to Pakistan for an embassy interview, then boarded a plane to Los Angeles.
In late April, after 32 months apart, Albina and Muhsenat walked through the terminal at LAX. Ahmad’s camera shook as he filmed his daughter running toward him, shouting “Mama!” as the family finally embraced.
“They are in my hug now,” Albina told CNN. “I just cry a lot, and all the pain come out.”
Today, the Romans live together in a two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. Ahmad works parttime for Miry’s List and drives for Uber. Albina says she feels “safe and free”—able to go to the store alone, without fear or permission.
For Miry’s List, the Roman family’s reunion is a story of persistence, partnership, and love that overcame bureaucracy and borders.
Families belong together.
In 2025, Albina achieved another milestone she could never have imagined in Afghanistan: she got her driver’s license. Under Taliban rule, women are prohibited from driving. She described the feeling of this accomplishment: "Now I don't feel like I would drive, I feel I will fly to the sky."
Muhsenat, now nine, has joined her brothers at their local elementary school and dreams of becoming a dentist or maybe a journalist. “She can do anything,” Ahmad said proudly. “She can study, she can be a doctor. In Afghanistan, that was impossible.”
Siblings Muhsanat and Rahman, reunited in Los Angeles, can’t get enough snuggles.
Together at last, the Roman family gathered for a welcome party with the Miry’s List hive at Zweet Cafe in Eagle Rock, CA.
$25 | Individual
$100 | Family
$300 |
$1,200
Photo by David Haskell
P ut yourself in the shoes P ut yourself in the shoes
of someone who just moved to a new country.
Imagine you don’t speak the language and you have others to care for.
Everyday you feel smaller.
To
Sediqullah Reshtin shares his family’s experience of resettling in Los Angeles from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul with the hive at the 8 year anniversary celebration of Miry’s List. Photo by David Haskell
2024 IMPACT AT A GLANCE
Reflections on the incredible impact achieved in 2024
WE BUILT CONFIDENCE AND COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION
Miry's List provided English classes to 150 resettling individuals, including 22 resettling elementary and middle schoolers, through the devoted support of 150 trained volunteer tutors. Through our SANAH program, we supported these new Americans by creating space to practice English and make new friends.
WE
LISTENED
AND RESPONDED TO HELP FAMILIES BUILD THEIR NEW HOMES
In 2024, we assisted 2,044 resettling individuals. 924 of these supported newcomers were enrolled in our 12month core program. 1,120 of the individuals were supported through our LA and Sacramento Welcome Workshops.
INDIVIDUAL HUMANS SUPPORTED
WE WARMED HOMES WITH INTENTIONAL GENEROSITY:
In 2024, Miry’s List facilitated 3,704 housewarming gifts through our family wishlists, totaling a value of $114,417 These items ranging from cozy bedding to essential kitchen tools were thoughtfully chosen to reflect each family’s unique preferences and needs.
ADULTS 18+ SUPPORTED
WE FOSTERED MENTAL WELLNESS WITHIN THE RESETTLING COMMUNITY:
In 2024, Miry's List provided hundreds of hours of mental health support for 49 resettling young people navigating multiple overlapping crises, validating their emotions, guiding and connecting them with accessible resources, and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health through our FATIMEH program.
WE CONNECTED NEW FRIENDS AROUND TABLES:
In 2024, Miry's List connected 829 guests at 13 community meals hosted by resettling chefs, celebrating one another ' s cultures and the resilience of the resettling community. Our new arrival chefs earned over $22,000 in wages and we raised over $15,000 to support Miry's List core programming to help more families.
408
CHILDREN AGE 3 TO 17
Your generosity and commitment to Miry's List in 2024 made a profound impact in the lives of over 2,000 people, many of whom are babies and children.
BABIES AGE 0-2
100% of Miry's List dollars go to mission delivery, which includes programming, management, and raising capital.
Miry's List operates with high efficiency. With a cash budget of $687,000 in 2024, Miry’s List distributed goods and services valued over $834,000, a 21% value-add social return on investment. Every dollar entrusted to Miry’s List generated $1.21 in support for new arrival refugees.
The following charts illustrate the sources of Miry's List’s funding and expenses in 2024 by category including in-kind and cash donations.
Miry's List is grateful to the thousands of people who s upported our work in 2024.
BE A LEADER
Fund a Family’s First Year
Each family’s resettlement journey is unique. That’s why Miry’s List programs are built with care and flexibility, so newcomer families get the support they need, in the way and pacing that work best for them.
When you CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ANNUAL FUND, you secure welcome for newcomer families long into the future. Your donation of $1,200 will fund the cost to support one new family for an entire year .
Photo by David Haskell
O U R P R G R A M S
Miry’s List programming is designed to alleviate the effects of a traumatic migration experience by offering friendship, comfort, and connection for families and individuals who left friends, family, and familiarity behind.
Cousins Mina and Muzhdah, reunited in Los Angeles, embrace at Miry's List 8th anniversary celebration in Los Angeles.
Photo by David Haskell
PROGRAMS WISHLISTS by Miry’s List
Turning Houses into Homes, One Gift at a Time
Imagine arriv ing
in a new country to an empty apartment, filled with questions and worries about your family’s future. Then you open your door to boxes from American helpers. Beds, backpacks, kitchen items, and small meaningful comforts, each with a note of care.
Wishlists by Miry’s List gives newcomer families the essentials for Miry's List has taught us the of treating each other ssion and empathy. hope to be able to in need someday.
WANT TO HELP?
-Jawid Hussain Nastoh
New American from Afghanistan
$113,435 VALUE OF GIFTS SENT NUMBER OF GIFTS SENT 3,67 1
Shop the lists and send a housewarming gift to a family and don’t forget to write a gift message! miryslist.org/lists
The Nashtoh kids’ new room comes together with beds provided through their Miry’s List wishlist
PROGRAMS WELCOME WORKSHOP
Welcome kits crafted with care, delivered to the doors of our resettling neighbors
Volunteer. P ack. Connec t.
The Miry’s List Welcome Workshop is a space where volunteers assemble personalized welcome kits for resettling refugee families. Each welcome kit is packed with intention and consideration for the family receiving it. Welcome kits are completed with handwritten welcome letters and a handmade blanket and mailed directly to the door a resettling family to welcome them to our program.
The support from Miry’s List helped us improve our home to be beautiful and comfortable for me and my children. Thank you all, you are truly wonderful.
-Zaher, Dad of 4 daughters New Californian from Syria
A teddy bear and warm coat for a toddler resettling in Alexandria, Virginia.
A baby carrier and English/Farsi dictionary for an expecting mom in Southern California.
A purple backpack and stack of comics for a newcomer English learner starting 4 grade in Toledo, Ohio. th
WANT TO HELP?
Volunteer in person at our Los Angeles workshop or virtually as an individual or group from anywhere
miryslist.org/welcome-workshop $40,675
5-year old Muska coloring with art supplies gifted in her family’s welcome kit.
SANAH
Photo by Anna Boyiazis
Learning a new language
while struggling with lonliness is a real challenge for the new arrival community. SANAH by Miry’s List is a virtual home learning program designed to counter isolation through opportunities to make new friends and practice English in structured conversational language classes.
Through SANAH, English learners are matched with a trained volunteer for weekly one-on-one tutoring sessions over 12 weeks.
I really learned a lot in this course. I am very happy with my teacher and thank you for providing a computer and textbook.
- Din Mohammad Mohammadi SANAH student
The SANAH supply kit includes a laptop, workbook and everything a student needs to practice English with their tutor. Photo by Anna Boyiazis.
Twins Musawir and Mina learning with their SANAH tutor Anna, while little brother and dad join in. Photo by Anna Boyiazis.
PROGRAMS FATIMEH
Feelings and Thoughts in Mental and Emtional Health
A group mental wellness program designed for resettling young people
Resetttling Angelenos at Lake Balboa Park in Los Angeles for a community potluck in the park for a day of connection, creativity and sunshine.
Photo by Miry Whitehill
For new arrival young people,
the move to the United States is a huge shift. It’s important these young people have the tools needed to take care of themselves mentally, emotionally and socially.
FATIMEH by Miry’s List is a peer-led mental health and leadership program for refugee youth under 25. It provides an introduction to understanding our minds and emotions in a safe space with culturally competent support to process experiences, build resilience, and advocate for wellbeing within families and communities.
When we learn to take care of ourselves, we become better at taking care of the people around us. We work towards building a stronger community and strengthen love and connection with each other.
94%
Reported greater understanding and management of their emotions
88%
Reported greater self-confidence
Grass does not need to grow. It just grows. Birds don't need to fly, they just fly. You don't have to do anything to be yourself Just be yourself.
- FATIMEH Program graduate
Support for FATIMEH from
FATIMEH 2024 Program Manager, Humna Ali
Photo by Christina Gandolfo
PROGRAMS NEW ARRIVAL SUPPER CLUB
Chase gazes with anticipation on Aqila’s cream rolls (recipe at the end of this magazine!)
Photo by Peter Bennett
FOOD IS LOVE IN AC TION
On Valentine’s Day 2017, a small group of friends gathered in an Atwater Village backyard for a popup dinner. Their goal was simple: Raise funds and build bridges for a new arrival Syrian family resettling in Los Angeles. The evening marked the very first New Arrival Supper Club, an experiment in connection that quickly blossomed into a beloved tradition.
Since then, Miry’s List has hosted hundreds of community dinners with beautiful menus created by newcomer chefs. Today, New Arrival Supper Club stands as one of Miry’s List’s most impactful activations for cultural exchange, communitybuilding, and bringing more helpers to the table.
Each gathering offers more than food. It provides moments of dignity, belonging, friendship, and recognition for our new neighbors.
Welcoming is an action, not a moment. Volunteers serving alongside newcomer families, children from different countries playing together while their parents share a meal, a resettling chef speaking and guests listen with undivided attention, that is community in motion.
GUESTS
$22,789 WAGES EARNED BY RESETTLING CHEFS
A gorgeous Afghan lunch made by new Angeleno, Zarlasht Sakhi in Los Angeles.
2024 Nowruz under the stars in a backyard in Glendale, CA.
M a r z i a ’ s J o u r n e y
In an intimate interview, Afghan mother and Miry’s List program participant Marzia Reshtin recounts her family’s harrowing escape from Kabul the day before the Taliban takeover and their courageous journey to rebuild a new life in Los Angeles.
Article by Miellyn Fitzwater Barrows
Marz ia Reshtin left her home
city of Kabul, Afghanistan one day before the Taliban took control. With her, she took her husband and three young children, and on August 14, 2021, they arrived in the United States.
She had no family in America. No friends. Knew no one. The language and the culture were completely foreign to her. She didn’t want to leave their home, but she couldn’t stay.
Five years earlier, Marzia’s husband had gone to work for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. “After that, we were not secure,” she says. “Our life was not secure… Every day when my husband leave home and went to his job, I was so worried… because he worked for America.”
Then a bomb exploded at her elder daughter’s school. Marzia heard the news and rushed back luckily finding her child safe and unharmed. But with such a violent attack so close to home, she knew they were all still in danger.
Once home, she and her children hid in the basement for hours. She says, “They were so scared…and they hugged me all day, and they cried.” That was when she knew they had to leave. It was a difficult decision, but she didn’t want her children to have to experience the same fear and peril she did while she was growing up.
“I didn't want my kids to and suffer those bad mo that I suffered in my life, says, sharing a story from own childhood w also been forced basement. “We electricity during there was a war my father near t and our play wa stars in the sky. asked my father sky. One of the us.’” Her father recognized the “ it was, an incom rushed the fami basement. His q protected them not all were so l morning, they d a neighbor boy
When she first t children they we America, they w move to a new h new country. But then the worry set in.“They asked, ‘We don't have family here. What will happen to us? We don't have friends here.’ So I talked with them, ‘We will try our best. We will find some friends to be like our family.’”
Soon after they arrived in Los Angeles, CA, a new friend of her husband’s connected them to Miry’s List. To get started, the family had to make a list of what they needed. “I have a good memory that I will never forget it,” says Marzia.
significant gifts they received were all the cards and letters from Miry’s List supporters. They wrote, “Welcome to your home, and we are here for you, and we are your friend.”
“Every immigrant… I don't think that they will come by their own choice,” says Marzia.
“There will be a reason for them to leave their country, their hometown, their families…. As Miry’s List two years ago brought happy tears and a smile on our face, so I also want for all immigrants to get help and support so that one day they will become like us. ”
Her husband had come to her and said that Miry asked him to find out what colors they wanted for their decor. “At that time, I got shocked. Even she asked me my own choice? That was so amazing for me…. And day by day we received room supplies, kitchen supplies…. My kiddos went to the balcony and saw that package and they were so excited that we have now our beds, our furniture here. That was the big deal and the big exciting moment for my kids and my family.”
The most emotionally significant gifts they received were all the cards and letters from Miry’s List supporters. “They wrote, ‘Welcome to your home, and we are here for you, and we are your friend.’ And that time I cried,” says Marzia. “I happy cried. Yeah. Happy tears came out of my eyes. That time I feel strong myself that I am not alone here with my kids.”
Marzia began English language classes through the Miry’s List SANAH (Supporting American Newcomers at Home) program and recently started working toward a bachelor's in business administration. Her husband has earned his master’s degree in accounting and is now studying to get a CPA. The children are also thriving. “I am happy here. We have a secure life here. Every day I drop off my kids to school and bring them back to home in a secure mind that we are safe here.”
In 2025, Marzia celebrated her graduation with a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Development Photo by her adoring husband, Sediq
Marzia’s youngest, Hawa, pictured at the 2024 Family Volunteer Day at Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica
Photo by David Haskell
THANK YOU: OUR PARTNERS
FOUNDATION PARTNERS
Adam Frand Foundation
Annenberg Foundation
California Community Foundation
Callison Foundation
Ceres Foundation
Charities Aid Foundation America
Dupage Community Foundation
Ferriman Soto Foundation
Islamic Relief USA
James Irvine Foundation
Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Maurice Amado Foundation
Medtronic Foundation
Our Change Foundation
Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation
SCHOOLS
Belvedere-Tiburon Library
de Toledo High School
Family School
Harvard Westlake School
Kennedy School
Polytechnic School
UCLA
University of Alaska Anchorage
Westridge School
Wildwood School
NAMED FUNDS
A & A Giving Fund
Boucher Family Charitable Gift Fund
Daffy Charitable Fund
David & Ashley Kramer Fund
Dum Family Charitable Fund
Eric M. Klusman Fund
Fishman Adams Giving Fund
Florence D Hafter Family Foundation
Freeland Giving Fund
Hosier Family Fund
Lainoff Family Foundation
Lawrence & Diedre Gordon Foundation
Lilly & Whitehill Giving Fund
Lionel & Debra D'Luna Family Foundation
Marweld Family Charitable Fund
McPherson Charitable Fund
Muller Family Foundation
O'Connor Family Foundation
Olsen Rau Family Fund
Snyder White Oaks of Delaware Foundation
Sunny Heights Charitable Fund
Varun Pai Giving Fund
SOCIAL AMBASSADORS
Azita Ghanizada
Blair Imani
Maz Jobrani
Evan Kleiman
Rachel Bloom
CORPORATE PARTNERS
ASC Process Systems
Bombas
Charles Schwab Bank
Citizens Bank
Comcast
CPT Group
Dr. Bronners
Goodera
Harvard Heights
Investments
Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, LLP
Kansha Creamery
LADWP
Laird Norton Wealth
Management
Launchgood
Mattress Firm
NBC Universal
Northstar Moving
Northwest Venture Partners
Participant Media
Pledge
RSF Social Finance
Spotfund Technologies
UGG Austrailia
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS
Afghan Refugee Relief
Atwater Village Moms Group
Baby2Baby
Childrens Refugee Center
Executive Service Corps
Good Today
Hello Neighbor
Homes for Refugees USA
IILA
In-Kind Boxes
Jewish Family & Children’s Service
Neighbor2Neighbor
NELA Mamas
Network for Good
Oxy Arts
Pads4Refugees
The Pile
Program for Torture Victims
United Way California
Welcome Blanket
Amar Dass
Basil Hakmeh
Brian Stefan
David Haskell
Elizabeth Schwandt
Josh Kun
Mackenzie Kassab
Parisa Parnian ADVISORY BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Daniel Phan
Jon Rees
Josh Goldstein, Esq.
Krysta Masciale
Lynn Maxcy
Marc Bernstein
Naomi Seligman BOARD
THE GREAT EQUALIZER: FOOD
AQILA’S SPECIAL CREAM ROLLS
Serves 8-10
Flaky, cardamom pastry rolls filled with lightly sweetened cream. A beautiful, delicate Afghan-inspired sweet finish that will delight your guests.
1. Prepare the pastry shells:
For the pastry shells:
1 package puff pastry sheets (thawed), or homemade pastry dough
Powdered sugar, for dusting
For the cream filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar (adjust to taste)
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla syrup (or vanilla extract)
For garnish:
Powdered sugar
Finely ground pistachios
Optional:
Dried rosebuds
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Cut puff pastry sheets into strips about 1½ inches wide. Wrap each strip around a metal cream horn mold or roll of foil, overlapping pastry slightly. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Make the cream filling:
In a chilled bowl, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, cardamom, and vanilla together until stiff peaks form. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
3. Bake & Assemble:
Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool completely, then gently remove from molds.
Spoon or pipe the whipped cream into each cooled pastry shell.
Arrange filled rolls neatly on a tray
4. Finish and decorate:
Sift powdered sugar generously over the top. Sprinkle with ground pistachio sugar mixture for color and flavor.
Optional:
Add a single dried rosebud on each for a beautiful finishing touch.
Tip:
Serve chilled or at room temperature. These delicate pastries pair wonderfully with green tea, cardamom coffee, and dear friends. Best enjoyed the same day they’re made.
Celebrating 2024 World Refugee Day in partnership with Independent Shakespeare Co. with a gorgeous Syrian buffet by chef Maysaa Kanjo in an Eagle Rock backyard. Photo by Christy Anderson
