CAIF

We had so much fun cooking soup on zoom with Katie Ledecky, Bethesda native and Olympic champion. She talked about her post about her t-shirt (she is showing us) which said "kindness is the new cool" and how people had been kind to her over the years and the impacts that made. We are donating our soup to a shelter and to a friend who recently lost her husband, and another friend that had open heart surgery. 

Zoroastrian Event: Cyrus Day. Cyrus was a devout Zoroastrian and very tolerant leader of his ancient empire where many faiths coexisted. Learn more about this fascinating history! Pictured is the "Cyrus Cylinder" learn what that is in this event (options are in person and via zoom).

"Rosh HaShanah is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah, literally "day of shouting or blasting." It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days, as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere". Wikipedia

It is interesting that both Jews and Muslims use a lunar calendar for holidays (though they are different lunar calendars than each other) instead of the Gregorian calendar we may be used to using in day to day life. This means that holidays shift compared to the Gregorian calendar dates instead of being on a fixed date like Christmas is always on the 25th of December of the Gregorian calendar. So RoshHashanah moves for example ,and so does Ramadan.

Happy New Year to all our Jewish friends celebrating! 

Capital Area Interfaith Friends - CAIF really enjoyed building a playhouse for a Habitat for Humanity family today! Thank you to Habitat for Humanity for giving us this opportunity, and to everyone who donated towards this build! We raised over $2000.00. https://www.classy.org/campaign/capital-area-interfaith-friends/c403395" target="_blank">Our donation page is still open and any extra money raised will go towards future Habitat for Humanity builds. https://www.classy.org/campaign/capital-area-interfaith-friends/c403395

Capital Area Interfaith Friends - CAIF had a great time cooking a meal for a newly arriving Afghan refugee family of 8 through the KindWorks Welcome Meal program. We made Chicken Lawang, Salata (tomato, cucumber, onion salad), and also provided flatbread, baklava and homemade chocolate chip cookies and left it all tucked into the fridge so they won't have to cook when they arrive at their new home, beautifully furnished by International Rescue Committee and waiting for them. KindWorks volunteers also stocked the fridge and pantry. Recipes highly recommended are from Afghan Culture Unveiled by Humaira Ghilzai

We left a note welcoming our new neighbors. We hope a taste of home will give them some ease after their long journey and the stress of leaving their home and country.

CAIF has been focusing on supporting newly arriving refugee families for several years through KindWorks apartment setups and welcome meals. When cooking for Afghan refugees, we have used recipes from Afghan food blogger and Cultural Ambassador Humaira Ghilzai. We are so excited that she is hosting a KindWorks KindSoup Zoom cooking, preparing food at home we can feed our own family and make 4 or more quarts extra to share with newly arriving refugee families, homeless shelters or the food insecure.

We will also be chatting with Humaira about the important work she has long done to support the rights and needs of women and girls in Afghanistan and how the recent events are impacting them and how we can help.

CAIF collected over 100 coats for men, women, and kids to support the ADAMS center coat drive for refugee families. One family came through KindWorks to try on some coats for their family before they were delivered to the distribution center and they were able to get coats for 7 family members. The minivan only had room for a driver! 

Today we helped set up an apartment with KindWorks for a refugee family coming from Afghanistan. Furniture and bedding and kitchen supplies and everything to prepare the apartment were collected through donations and then a few dozen volunteers came in to set it up. In only a few hours, the empty apartment was ready for the family. Then volunteers will cook an Afghan meal to put in the fridge to welcome the family. Hopefully their transition to the US can be made a little bit less stressful by this work.

https://www.facebook.com/1544641135789679/posts/2923165921270520/?d=n" target="_blank">See photos of CAIF helping set up the apartment!

https://www.facebook.com/1544641135789679/posts/2926524364268009/?d=n" target="_blank">See photos of the finished apartment here!

This year for Eid we were allowed to socially distant gather for our celebrations. We invited two families over and prayed, ate traditional food, and enjoyed our holiday together for the first time in a while!