Hi, my name is Zarina and I am from Afghanistan.

I lost everything the day the Taliban came.

Before the Taliban took over, Zarina worked as a teacher.

She speaks four languages and is learning her fifth, English.

Her children live in different parts of the world and she now calls St.

Louis home.

"I have a lot of wishes and I want to go back to my profession in the United States."

Unfortunately barriers to independence and success continue to exist for Afghan women like Zarina who have resettled in St.

Louis.

This region is dependent on cars, making many jobs, schools, grocery stores and doctors appointments difficult to reach without reliable transportation.

For immigrants and refugees who arrive without a driver's license or vehicle, simply getting from place to place can become a major challenge, leaving women feeling isolated and dependent on strangers.

We want to enable them to be independent.

Ann Whitman is the executive director of Welcome Neighbor STL, a local nonprofit that partners with refugees and immigrants as they start their new lives in St.

Louis.

The fear is takes a long time to get rid of when they first come.

They're afraid of everything.

They're afraid of people.

They're afraid of places.

They're afraid of our culture.

They don't want to get in trouble.

And so that takes a long time to get over that fear in order to then be brave enough to venture out into our society.

- This is a no U-turn, which means you can't turn around and make a big U in order to go back where you came.

- Welcome Neighbor STL has collaborated with Archway Refugee Connections.

They've created a pathway out of isolation for Afghan women through their driver education program.

The manuals luckily have been translated into Pashto and Dari.

And so if a woman is literate in her home language, then that's great for studying.

But of course, when they're driving, all of our signs, all of the directions, they're all in English.

And so we want to make sure that they are comfortable and safe.

Because during a driving test, you cannot have an interpreter.

And so you need to understand English to a comfortable degree.

Start turning this way.

Remember the hand over hand.

Yep.

Then hold it.

Now let go.

Let go of that wheel.

Don't fly.

Just keep your hands on the wheel.

When we got started with the first small grant from the Missouri Office of Refugee Administration, it was for Afghans and it could have been a man or a woman.

It was specific to Afghans.

But we chose to focus on the women because we knew some of the women were really excited about the opportunity to learn how to drive because they weren't allowed to drive in Afghanistan.

So we thought, let's give this a try.

And it takes longer because they've never driven a car.

So, at least the men had driven cars in Afghanistan, but the women had never been behind the wheel.

So, if there's a road and it has this sign, that means do not enter that way.

Some of these student drivers will use the freedom of a driver's license to get a job.

Immigration is one of the few sources of population growth in the St.

Louis region.

As refugee women gain access to jobs and careers, they help fill workforce gaps, support local companies, and contribute to the economic vitality of our region.

- Yeah, then hold that right there.

Now let go.

Yep, keep your hands on the wheel though.

Let it slide.

There you go.

- Rahanna has passed the driving permit program and is now learning the basics of driving from behind the wheel.

She is already employed.

Her and her husband work opposite shifts at a factory, so someone will always be home with their young children.

I work from 4 a.m.

to 5 p.m.

I work 10 hours a day.

My commute is very long.

Because I don't have a driver's license and I don't have a car, one of our fellow citizens comes to pick me up every day.

It's very difficult for me.

I depend on somebody else.

If that person wants to go, I'm able to go.

If that person is not going, then I'm not having anybody to take me or bring me back.

In the last year, 55 women have earned their driver's license.

They've been funded to train another 50 within the next 12 months.

For these women, learning to drive is more than passing a test.

It's about independence, freedom.

I want to be a teacher here.

I want to serve the people here.

You helped me in my hard situation, and I want to be a helpful person to the people here.

♪♪