We recently connected with Saleem Tahiri and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Saleem thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

Starting a non-profit to help immigrants involved a lot of challenges and issues. Immigrants, who are coming to a completely different culture and environment, find it difficult to adjust, facing numerous challenges in the first few months.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. As a young professional, I worked with USAID on special projects around the country to support government and non-government offices with I.T. technology equipment. Working with USAID put me and my family in danger with Taliban and with the security getting worse we had to leave the country, I applied for Special Immigration Visa (SIV). I was approved and my family came to Nashville in October 2017 as refugees. During the first few months we faced serious and unexpected challenges in the U.S. There were times when we didn’t have enough food to eat and left everything behind including our life savings. Without money and support we relied and were dependent on our caseworker for basic needs. Its hard to think about my family went without food for two days and two nights at one point. My wife and small children didn’t expect how this could happen in the United States. I knew we had to survive, no matter what. I quickly got a job in a FedEx warehouse, where I worked for 3 months. In Afghanistan, I was an I.T. manager but would do whatever it took to feed my family. During the few hours I wasn’t working, I applied to different jobs, but as I didn’t have work experience in the U.S., my application was always rejected. I felt like I would never return to the work I loved. Eventually, I applied to Office Max as a laborer, but I knew it would bring me closer to computers and my expertise. The other employees would ask me to help with difficult problems, and I knew I had the skills and experience to go higher and achieve my career goals here in America. I started to apply again and was led to CCI, an I.T. Services company in Nashville. I owe a lot of thanks to Chris Jones, the owner of CCI. Even though I newly arrived in Nashville without a background, he believed in me and gave me a chance. I worked hard to prove myself, and within 2 months, I was promoted to the I.T. team supervisor. After 3 years, I joined General Motors as Cyber Security Engineer, but I never forgot Chris and his help. After just 10 months at G.M., I returned to CCI as their Technical Operations Manager. I was happy to wake up every morning and work in my field again and I have also enrolled in a Master’s program in Cyber Security at Franklin University to further enhance my education. When I heard about the fall of Afghanistan to Taliban and the wave of refugees would come to Nashville in late August, I thought about my own difficult time and I thought about these first days that we were hungry, alone. I told myself that I and my family would not let these people stay hungry or feel cold without clothes. Through connections in Afghan diaspora community, I learned where families were living, in hotels and apartments. I brought them food from home and groceries and helped translate and answer questions about what to expect from their new lives. I was visiting families and was offering them my support when I met Katie. We saw that we were working for the same goal to help anyone and everyone who needed us. We were, and we still are, an unstoppable team. In the first days, it was very tough as we were learning how to help as more and more people arrived. We were just a few people trying our best and spending our own money to keep people fed. We knew the need would grow, and we had to become an official organization to fill all the gaps we could see. In December of 2021, we formed Tennessee Resettlement Aid as a non-profit, and we have since grown to provide food, home goods, coats, shoes, baby supplies, and more to 850 Afghan refugees. Now Tennessee Resettlement Aid is supporting different communities such as: Afghans, Kurdish’s, Nepalis, Congolese, some Ukrainians, and some Egyptians. We work hard to support them in all areas, both physically and mentally, and spiritually. We work hard to organize events where the community can come to form relationships. We have enrichment programs like soccer games and exercise groups where friendships grow. We are proud of our successes: families are thriving, people are working, and children are speaking English. As they change and grow, TRA will change and grow to continue to help them. The only thing that matters for us is that they are safe and feel loved in their new home. Immigrants often face numerous challenges when settling into a new country. They encounter language barriers, cultural differences, and legal complexities. In such situations, the generosity of individuals, communities, and organizations can make an enormous difference in their lives.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

As I continued my work assisting new immigrants, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Katie Finn, who shared my passion for aiding those in need. Katie’s kindness and generosity were evident in every interaction, and together, we formed a formidable team. Initially, Katie and I funded our efforts out of our own pockets, recognizing the urgency of the situation. Katie and I are humbled by the impact we’ve been able to achieve together. What began as a simple desire to help those in need has blossomed into a thriving non-profit organization, fueled by the generosity and compassion of our community

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of the new families are the community and reputation and help we made to the new families.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tennesseeresettlementaid.org/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saleemtahiri/