our work
A few days after Kabul fell in mid-August, 2021, our founder Steve Gates reached out to some Afghan Scouting professionals he knew from a decade before. They told him the Taliban had death threats on all eight of them and could he help? Their families were all in hiding and needed to get to Pakistan or some other safe location. Thanks largely to the efforts of many people, they were able to get to Pakistan, 48 people in total including their spouses and children. Given they had access to the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) because the US had funded the reboot of Scouting in Afghanistan, they were supposed to be flown by the US military to Doha, Qatar, for processing. However, Pakistan banned the US from moving Afghans out of Pakistan to be processed, fearing the ‘pull factor’ of well over a million people, families included, that would pour over the border into Pakistan, as there was no embassy open in Kabul, of course.
When that news was delivered, Steve’s family and friends jumped in to fund apartments for these many people. They were told by the US State Department that they would get the Pakistani’s to allow processing and it shouldn’t be more than 3-6 months. That became 6-12, then 12-18 and then the State Department simply quit giving any timeline. Hence, in order to keep these Afghan Scouters and their families safe, housed and fed, a registered charity was established early on in 2022, the Afghan Scout Relief Fund. ‘Scout’ was purposely put in the name in order to better appeal to the worldwide scouting community to assist in support of their Afghan brothers and sisters. The logo was even created by the national artist of the Boy Scouts of America.
It’s important to note that part of the motto of BSA is ‘to help other people at all times’. So, when young women Scouts began calling in September of 2021, begging to get out of Afghanistan and be allowed to come live in Pakistan with our team, we began to work the problem.
We reached out to private schools across the US and quickly were given well over a million dollars in free schooling from various Waldorf schools. Sponsor families signed on and we started to move students, chosen for their proven smarts and good English, to our Pakistan homes. From there, we coached them on how to handle the US embassy interview for their F1 student visa. Once the visa was secured, we flew them to the US and settled them in. Most went straight to high school, but some to college. We arranged for the evacuation and placement in US schools of 33 young women and 3 young men (equivalent of our Eagle Scouts).
Since early 2022, we have evacuated 36 students from Afghanistan to high schools and colleges in the US, having secured almost $4 million in scholarships for them.
Nargess, our first student out, getting an award at Menlo College in Silcon Valley. She graduated with high honors in May 2026.
Students arriving in San Francisco to attend high school. All four are in college now.
Students arriving in Los Angeles to attend high school and meeting their sponsor families at the airport.
Students landing at JFK airport to attend high school in New Hampshire and Colorado.
Given the travel ban effective June 2025 which included Afghanistan, we have been unable to continue evacuating students to the US for schooling. We have continued efforts, however, to bring students to Malaysia where 15 are attending Albukhary University and we are working to bring 5 more who have received admission and a full ride scholarship to begin their studies there this October.
Students thank the ASRF Community in the national mall with the Washington Monument behind them.
Stand with our students
Help our students in the US and Malaysia and more brilliant Afghan students pursue their education.