Everything started when the scenes from the withdrawal from Afghanistan were aired all over the media outlets. Angie Kraus, the founder of Amshera, couldn’t sit idly by with so many Afghan families in need. So, she completed a volunteer orientation with the Refugee Services of Texas to start doing her part. What began as volunteer service quickly turned into a mission.

Angie received the opportunity to pick up an Afghan family directly from the airport and realized how much more of a difference she could make. She continued to work with and help this family by learning English. Then, she met their neighbors and started working with more families. Before long, the very first Afghan man that Angie had met pointed out that many of the others referred to her as his sister. While starting to learn the Afghan language and dialects, she learned that Amshera meant “sister” in the Dari language.

The mission became much larger than one person providing help. What began as assisting one family, and then their neighbors, became over 90 different Afghan families in one year and as of August 2023 has reached 155 families. Thus, the nonprofit organization “Amshera” was born complete with a 501(c)(3) status. Creating the organization creates better opportunities to provide crucial support and supplies to the families.

Assistance provided to the families quickly expanded beyond providing items and clothing. Angie understood that support services would be just as important as material goods. While Amshera takes donations, both money and physical items, it also assists the Afghan families with vital service assistance. These services include various things ranging from reading mail to scheduling appointments to registering children for school.