Let their first steps in the U.S. be good ones, help refugee kids wear new shoes

In the front room of the Arden-Arcade apartment where an Afghan refugee family lives, 3-year-old, curly-topped Hasinat and her 1-year-old brother Hamza were busily tossing plastic balls into a Paw Patrol tent.

They both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a visitor pull something out of a large purple bag – two new pairs of shoes. One was a pair of iridescent lilac sneakers (size 8) for Hasinat, and the other, blue and yellow sports shoes (size 6) for Hamza.

The kids giggled and wiggled as they slipped them on their bare feet. In what seemed like a nanosecond later, Hasinat bolted to the front door.

Speaking in her family’s native language of Dari, Hasinet said she wanted to go outside on the concrete walkway to test them out.

Hamza zoomed after her, and then bounced up and down on the concrete, squealing with delight.

After he coaxed the pair back inside, their father Muhammad Rafi Sediqi, 33, broke out in a wide smile, saying in English, “thank you, thank you” to visitor Vickee Moy, founder and director of Starting Point for Refugee Children.

The expressions of gratitude and need drive Moy, 49, a Sacramento City College English (as a second language) teacher, who founded the nonprofit organization two years ago to help newly arriving families with basic needs.

Over the years, she has done a lot for the new arrivals. She has given school backpacks, socks, blankets and more recently, established soccer teams for Afghan kids and provided equipment.

Her volunteers help teach literacy to moms, and perform elementary school-level academic enrichment activities that include art, hands-on science and field trips. She is now working on a computer literacy project for kids.

And then there are the shoes. She’s shopped for a lot of new shoes and outfitted 360 children so far.

Unfortunately, she says resources are being stretched to the limit. That’s why she’s hoping through the Book of Dreams to raise $6,000, enough for good shoes for 300 more newly arriving refugee children, mostly from Afghanistan. What better way of helping children, she says, so “they can take their first steps in the U.S. in comfort and pride,” she said.

Moy’s group is called upon one to three times a week to pay a visit to new arrivals, often referred to her by cultural adviser Shahpoor Benawa, a refugee and former student of hers, who serves as a community liaison and interpreter.

Moy pays an initial visit to new families, providing them with basic household necessities. She also gathers information to help assess what they may need. More frequently than not, the youngsters need shoes.

“I noticed that the kids were often barefoot with their toes curled up from wearing shoes that were too small. I’ve seen lots of toes bruised or cracked because of the shoes they were wearing,” she said.

Sediqi arrived in Sacramento with his family in April. He found work operating a forklift and hopes to further his education. “I hope to have a good future with my family and have continued knowledge … and to live normally.”

Normal is something he has never known growing up in Afghanistan. He used to work alongside the U.S. military, and went on secret missions with the Special Forces.

He took four bullets to the leg, and until he could leave his country, he stayed on the military base. Because of his alliance with the United States, he was at risk of being killed if he stayed in Afghanistan.

He smiles broadly as he speaks of his new family home. The United States is “very peaceful,” he said, as is the city in which he now lives.

Add to that a place where a newly arriving Afghan family can get a little help from people like Moy, including a couple pairs of shoes for his children.

The request

Needed: New shoes for 300 newly arriving refugee children, mostly from Afghanistan

Cost: $6,000