Afghani families in Kewanee find independence, jobs

All three of the families from Afghanistan who settled in Kewanee have shown positive signs that they are adapting to their new home in the United States and becoming independent.

The families, who obtained visas after assisting U.S. operations in their country, were brought to Kewanee in March by a volunteer coalition of Kewanee church members called Kewanee Cares. The group formed to help Afghanis who were displaced by the hasty pullout of troops there in late 2021. Working through the Samaritan's Purse charity, the group prepared local apartments for the families, helped get them the basics to set it up, got the children enrolled in school and helped ferry them to doctors appointments and church services.

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"It's so exciting to see progress like this," said Bobbi Throneburg, who founded Kewanee Caress. "Good things are happening, all because of amazing volunteers and donors in this community and area."

One family has gotten on its feet enough that it has decided to relocate to an Afghani community in California.

Throneburg said that's not a diss to Kewanee but the stated goal of the family -- to be closer to a community of Afghanis who are Americans but who share their cultural similarities.

"This family has mentioned from day one that they would like to live among a huge group of Afghans and be around Pashto speakers," Throneburg said. "I can't blame them."