For Afghan refugees (especially fresh arrivals), language is a giant barrier for their day-to-day communication which is linked to their livelihood. Around half of Afghans in the United States over the age of five report limited English and other language proficiency, and only six percent of Afghan immigrants speak English at home. This is lower than for the general foreign-born population, where around 16 percent speak English at home. This can result in frustrating situations for everyone involved, especially if interpretation services are not available at the time.
Afghan immigrants in the United States and other refugee host countries need help communicating with those around them as they adjust to their lives in a new country. Just because an immigrant struggles with language barrier does not mean that communication is impossible or should not be attempted. To open the lines of communication, businesses and government agencies must provide language services to immigrants in need. Considering this reality, FOMSA is providing virtual interpreter services for Afghan refugee around the world with their language barriers. We only accept with official referred organizational request in advance appointment with the following languages to Dari/ Farsi and Pashto.
For additional information, please email us at info@f-omsa.org
Naturally, the likelihood that an Afghan immigrant is proficient in English depends on multiple variables. Both periods of arrival and gender seem to play a role in how likely the individual is to speak English proficiently. Afghan women are slightly more likely to be classified as “limited English proficient” (LEP) when compared to their male counterparts. Immigrants who arrived in the United States after the year 2010 are also more likely to be LEP than those who arrived during an earlier period.
Communication is possibly one of the biggest barriers Afghan refugees. Learning to assimilate to the English language can be a struggle for many Afghan immigrants, partly due to the differences between English and Afghan languages. Although native speakers are often unaware of it, the English language features numerous irregularities that do not exist in most other languages, and this complicates the learning process for Afghan immigrants.
Thus, English language skills is the key barrier especially for new Afghan immigrant in United States. There are many ways that parents can help to build their English skills. FOMSA offers classes from introductory to advanced levels class, most of our class are virtual conducting by Afghan senior volunteers in order to understand them in easy way.
Please contact us if you are interested to join the class or work as English language instructor.
New arrivals often need language assistance to complete immigration paperwork, as well as prior to vaccination screening against measles and COVID-19 and for accurate health screening and establishing a baseline of prior medical history. As the next step in resettlement presents itself, interpreters are essential to the process of placement assistance. The State Department has set up the Afghan Placement and Assistance (APA) program specifically to help Afghans who do not qualify for traditional refugee benefits or a direct pathway to U.S. permanent status.
FOMSA is helping Afghan refugee, asylees and other statutes in supporting of translation of legal documents, filling some official form, translation of education documents and more.
FOMSA is proud of being able to offer virtual driving class in Farsi and Pashto languages with advanced driving knowledge class supported by our well-trained coaches with several years of experience. We can help you with DMV appointment, if you need a car for road test and depending on availability, we can facilitate to avail the car too. In addition, we have vehicle simulators for comprehensive traffic safety training including basic vehicle operation, procedural tasks and road management, risk awareness and defensive driving, deterrent training for driving under.
Our systems are ideally suited for new Afghan refugees who relatively need an urgent support.
Refugees are ordinary people living in extraordinary circumstances. The majority of Afghan refugees are stuck in limbo with limited resources, information, economic or educational opportunities. They have talent and tremendous potential. However, they deserve knowledge and tools for forward-looking strategies. Afghans are in need of integrated approaches that boosts their courage and confidence, creativity and technical competencies, which are fundamental to reimagine and build a bright and durable future.
FOMSA, under the community education program, is engaged in strengthening the knowledge of individual to find their pathway from different dimensions. We are pursuing activities towards strengthening their capacity with following classes.
Our program is flexible. We do run virtual class over the zoom. We also accept appointment through phone call for consultation in our office. The clients/beneficiaries are requested to call us in advance to fix the appointment with specialists.
Based on our priority theme as mentioned above, FOMSA aims to improve mental health and psychosocial well-being of individual Afghan refugee in the United States and in Afghanistan. Our approach is community-based psychosocial support that builds upon existing strengths and resources, empowering communities, groups, families, and individuals to care for themselves and each other.
The programming we designed it is combination of Afghanistan and US to help refugees cope with the accumulative trauma, separation, loss fear, isolation, cultural crash distress and daily stress of living on the margins of new cultural and rule.
FOMSA with bilingual certified psychotherapist/counselors has been providing virtual and in-person counseling services. It is great honor that our therapists are available 24 hours 7 days a week to help our clients. The beneficiaries can contact from any part of the world and benefit from our virtual services. Please contact us and get advantage from our free psycho-education virtual class monthly base for following issues.
FOMSA is a supporting those who have experienced trauma to heal, develop their resilience, and lead full, productive lives which is also known as trauma-informed care. FOMSA expertise in trauma-informed care has been designed for working with Afghan displaced persons including women and children who have experienced profound trauma because of war, displacement, domestic violence human trafficking and abuse. With trauma-informed care, we are helping to build resilience in an attempt to normalize and cope with negative thoughts. The Centre of Excellence for Trauma-informed Care is a collaborative space—both virtual and in person—and what we believe is the most effective means of recovery for trauma survivors across the globe.
We offer training in trauma-informed care for refugees and organizations supporting refugees, as well as resources that enable those delivering trauma-informed care to practice self-care so that they can serve survivors better.
FOMSA has designed the psycho-education program to improve mental health and psychosocial well-being and to assist individuals with a program that reduces suffering especially among all refugees, IDPs and disadvantage community. Our approach is guided by community-based psychosocial support service that builds upon existing strengths and resources, empowering communities, groups, families, and individuals to care for themselves and each other. The programming helps survivors address the grief, fear, isolation, and distress that can result from forced flight, surviving or witnessing violence, loss or separation from family, and the daily stress of living on the margins of foreign cities or in refugee camps.
FOMSA offers integrated and stand-alone psychosocial activities that are tailored to each community and to individual refugees to help them establish new lives built on dignity and self-sufficiency. Our programming is consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.
