The Afghan Welcome Event was designed to connect refugees with each other and with local resources.
Welcome Dayton brought in representatives from organizations that can help with employment, education, and immigration. There was even a robotics team recruiting at the event.
The idea for this event came from Moh Fardeen Ahmadi.
“When I came here eight years ago, I was looking for an Afghan family here,” Ahmadi says. “We didn’t have this opportunity then, so that’s why we’re providing this opportunity now. We are getting more Afghan families here, so we need to have a bunch of people here to create a community."
And there is a growing Afghan community. According to Welcome Dayton, 119 Afghan refugees have settled here in the last year.
Jeannette Horwitz, coordinator of Welcome Dayton, was excited to hear from Ahmadi and help bring his vision to life.
“I like when people reach out and say, ‘I have an idea’ or ‘there’s a need,' and let us know what that is. It feels good to be able to do that,” she says.
Welcome Dayton has another event coming up next weekend. They’ll be celebrating “Welcome Dayton Day” at the Dayton Dragons baseball game, and tickets can be purchased in advance for $4.