ORANGE, Calif. — Each Sunday, Metra Azar-Salem, an Afghan American, walks through the newly created kitchen supply aisle looking for household essentials.

With a cart in hand, she enjoys these weekly shopping trips, knowing that each item picked out will soon help a family in need.

“We’ve always been contributing to different programs in Afghanistan,” Azar-Salem said. “So all of a sudden, these Afghans were going to be here. Right in our neighborhood and there was this immense feeling of wanting to give back.”

Azar-Salem picked out plates, tea kettles and other items, all of which have been donated to the Afghan Refugee Relief organization. The volunteers came together in August hoping to help the Afghan refugees that would be coming to Southern California.

“She said, ‘Look, we need to organize and get young people to get involved.’ It’s a handful of elderly ladies who are assisting refugees, and she said, ‘The numbers are going to get to a capacity that we can’t handle,’” Azar-Salem said.

That call for mobilization turned into over 300 volunteers and thousands of donations, including the use of a previously vacant Sears building in Orange. In turn, the organization says they’ve assisted over 500 families with finding jobs, donations, housing and more. While many Afghan-Americans in Southern California are doing what they can for those that are here, they’re also keeping a watchful eye on those still in the country.

Mursel Sabir with Afghans Empowered began her work focusing on Afghan migrant populations in Greece but felt a calling in 2021 to amplify the needs of those who are trying to survive within Afghanistan’s borders.

“We’re talking about unemployment. We’re talking about the economic sanctions and the lack of opportunity to continue their normal livelihoods. This emergency aid right now is a huge lifeline for families. Honestly, across all different socioeconomic thresholds. Even those who are in the middle class, who are now jobless, who now have large families to take care of,” Sabir said.

Afghans Empowered and other organizations are coming together to host an Afghanistan Benefit Gala on Feb. 12 at the QD Venue in Westminster, sharing stories of those in the country, live cultural music and more. All proceeds will go toward humanitarian aid in the country, according to the organization.

With efforts here and abroad, Azar-Salem and other volunteers are doing everything they can to help.

“We really feel like indebted,” she said. “You know, we were given this opportunity to live the last 30, 40 years in this beautiful country to build our lives and thrive, and we want to set them up for success.”