{"id":1217,"date":"2022-05-04T14:32:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sabasandiego.org\/?page_id=1217"},"modified":"2024-01-24T08:47:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T16:47:52","slug":"afghan-outreach-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sabasandiego.org\/afghan-outreach-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan Outreach Project"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row fullwidth=”true” fullwidth_content=”false” css=”.vc_custom_1651699889824{padding-top: 80px !important;padding-right: 24px !important;padding-bottom: 80px !important;padding-left: 24px !important;background-color: #f9f9f9 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner animation=”fade-in”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1660327090350{padding-top: 8px !important;padding-right: 24px !important;padding-left: 24px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”1283″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1660327101977{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 24px !important;padding-left: 24px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1706113505238{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Since August 2021, more than 75,000 Afghans fled the Taliban and resettled in the United States. Among these refugees are several judges and lawyers.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1651779296118{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]In 2022, SABA San Diego launched an Afghan Outreach Project designed to support these individuals in their efforts to make connections and find employment. In contrast to scholarship and fellowship projects that are currently being developed by other groups, we are focused on securing entry-level legal sector positions to provide a starting point for refugee-lawyers.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1706113621347{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\n

Current Chair:<\/strong>
\nArwa Zakir Kakavand<\/p>\n

Past Chairs:<\/strong>
\nMaryam Baqi, February 2022 \u2013 July 2022
\nMytili Bala, July 202 \u2013 January 2024<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner animation=”fade-in” css=”.vc_custom_1706114544985{padding-top: 24px !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1581014264831{padding-right: 24px !important;padding-left: 24px !important;}”][vc_toggle title=”Our approach” style=”arrow” css=”.vc_custom_1706114716192{border-top-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 22px !important;border-top-color: rgba(18,130,159,0.33) !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}” el_class=”afgan_expander”]Our immediate priority is to assist refugee-lawyers in San Diego in securing meaningful employment in the legal sector as case assistants, file clerks, or legal secretaries at law firms, non-profits, and educational institutions. We pair each person with a mentor, help update CVs and reference lists, search job boards, schedule mock interviews, and reach out to our networks to find and create opportunities. For Afghan refugee-lawyers outside San Diego, we connect them with mentors from other SABA chapters who can assist with the job search process.<\/p>\n

Through our ongoing efforts, we have learned the landscape of refugee assistance programs and recognize the extraordinary challenges of finding housing and employment in three short months after arriving to a new place without family ties or networks. Even for refugees with job-ready skills and work authorization, the challenges can be daunting.<\/p>\n

Making a difference will require employers to lead by creating roles for refugee-lawyers and accelerating the hiring timeline to respond to their financial realities. The individuals in our network are bright, highly skilled, fluent in English, extremely hardworking, and eager to learn. They will add value to your organization and to our legal community.[\/vc_toggle][vc_toggle title=”Our educational mission” style=”arrow” css=”.vc_custom_1706114727525{border-top-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 22px !important;border-top-color: rgba(18,130,159,0.33) !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}” el_class=”afgan_expander”]Beyond addressing the immediate needs of resettled Afghan judges and lawyers, SABA San Diego seeks to learn from their stories to foster dialogue and exchange. Through virtual presentations, we aim to provide refugee-lawyers with a basic introduction to the state and federal court system and explore the life of a civil or criminal case. We hope that in the future, we can also host events to learn from our Afghan lawyer counterparts how best to uphold the rule of law.[\/vc_toggle][vc_toggle title=”Partners and resources” style=”arrow” css=”.vc_custom_1706114743643{border-top-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 22px !important;border-top-color: rgba(18,130,159,0.33) !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}” el_class=”afgan_expander”]\n