This Couple Reimagined What It Means to Donate
When Afghan refugees arrived in Los Angeles, Pritha Gupta and Nik Patel opened up their home. Then their family grew.
COURTESY SUBJECT
It was late at night when they arrived—Abdullah, his wife, and their son, who was 18 months old, the same age as our son. They had left Afghanistan days earlier, not long after the Taliban took control of Kabul. After they came to our house from the airport, Abdullah told us what happened.
He was 12 when American troops arrived in Afghanistan, and he later became an interpreter for the U. S. military. When the U. S. pulled out of the country in August after two decades, he said he was lucky. He and his family went to the airport, but there wasn't a rush and they were able to get on a plane. They landed on the East Coast days later and were routed to L.A., because they knew someone in Sacramento. That's where they would ultimately settle.
It was only the night before that we had learned about Abdullah and his family through the International Institute of Los Angeles (IILA), an organization we're involved with that helps refugees and asylum seekers find housing and become self-sufficient. Because of the influx, they didn't have housing set up yet for Abdullah's family. We talked it over. We area family of three; they are a family of three.
We have sons the same age. We thought, Hey, we have a guest house, a converted garage. This is a good thing to do.
That first night, the family was exhausted. But they were also excited. Abdullah asked us about L.A. and what to do here. The next day, he rode the bus, navigating the terrible traffic. They all wanted to see everything.
The two boys playing together in the yard.
During the three days they stayed with us, our sons played like any two kids on a playdate and blew bubbles in the backyard. It struck us how different each boy's life had been but how they might grow up to know each other. It makes us happy to think they might one day meet again.
We were also struck by how many people worked to help Abdullah and his family, giving them phones and food and helping them find an apartment. We are proud to be just a small part of that effort. It was our first time hosting, but we now want to host again whenever there is a family in need.
We texted them after they left L.A. Abdullah said his family was doing well and that he was learning how to drive a truck. He asked about our son.
In the text, he called [Nik] "brother."
—As told to Joshua St. Clair
A version of this article originally appeared in the December 2021 issue of Men's Health.
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