Update 11/26/23: Happy holidays, friends! The A*** family are settling into their new home in Delaware. They were flown in on IOM flights (which they have to pay back) and are renting an apartment they can stay in until next summer. Money is tight! They've spent almost all of the $4k we raised this summer on resettlement arrangements. The kids (all in their 20s) are working long hours at minimum wage retail jobs, doing their best to accumulate clothes and possessions for an East Coast winter, and trying to find spare time to build skills and educational credentials to climb into better work. If you have $$ to spare this winter, please consider donating here or via my Venmo @haley-leppp. Giftcards and other material items (regift opp!!) are also welcome- send me a message and I can help you direct them toward the family. If you'd be interested in sponsoring community college fees or helping with scholarship apps, please also send me a message! ---- Update 08/2024: We have wonderful news! The family has been notified that they will be resettled to the United States in three weeks. We have raised over $3,000. The fundraiser is now even more important as the cost of living is higher in the states and they will need time to transition into employment here. Thank you for your continued support! -- Hi, my name is Haley and I'm an American PhD student studying International and Comparative Education at Stanford University. I am fundraising to secure safe housing for my long-time friends who I met studying abroad in Jordan. This family of 5 registered Somali refugees living in Amman is in urgent need of financial support to move into safer housing. The two daughters, who are my age, volunteered with me at a Jesuit Refugee Service and have dedicated their time and limited resources to helping build community for other refugees in Amman. One is a very talented artist! Their rented apartment appears structurally unsound and they need to move immediately. I have calculated that $6,000 USD will cover most of their housing and utility costs for 1 year. Monthly rent, at minimum, would be about $422 USD, and utilities would be $70 USD. Other resources, such as food and clothing, are not included in this number but extra donations would certainly be welcome. While we would be very grateful for one-time donations, I would love to try to find a few donors interested in an ongoing sponsorship of this family while they navigate the asylum process. I include my identity, institutional affiliation, and photo to encourage trust from American donors, but limit details about my friends for their privacy and safety. I will ensure everything from this fundraiser is given directly to the family. There is no organization/group/company taking a cut (other than LFEBridge). If you want to skip LFEBridge, you can venmo me at @haley-leppp and 100% will go to the family. I will be sending them money as it comes in so they can move into safer housing ASAP. My friends' message is below. I added some links for more information about their claims. ---- We are a Somali family who are refugees here in Jordan for over 10 years. As refugees living here, we encounter several challenges, such as work restrictions. Since working here is illegal, we don't have any reliable sources of steady income. We worry a lot about making ends meet, thus the worries and concerns feel never-ending here. We are living under challenging conditions. We are continuously concerned about rent, electricity, and other bills like water. One outstanding issue is that the apartment we live in is in very bad condition and is very old. We need to find another place as soon as possible. There is a crack in the roof, and there is a water leak too. We can't keep the risk of staying there. We are lacking the financial resources. We feel tied up and frustrated. There are not many things we can do. ---- For more information about Somali refugees in Jordan: Jordan hosts the second largest number of refugees worldwide but is not a final destination for resettlement. Instead, it is a first stop (like a staging area) where people can wait while organizations such as the UN find final destinations for people. Refugees can be in this strange middle-ground for years waiting for settlement- while waiting, they often do not have working rights or medical rights. Refugees who are not from Syria or Ukraine may be refused international aid and services because their countries are less in the public eye (please consider contacting your representatives to suggest aid/refugee admissions not be earmarked for specific countries, but all refugees). African refugees often face institutionalized anti-Black racism which makes the already-difficult refugee experience incredibly hard. This is a specific family we are trying to get aid to now. If you want to donate/support more structural change- check out organizations such as Center for Victims of Torture, IRAP, or Collateral Repair Project. Thank you for your consideration! Please reach out with any questions.
Artículos relacionados
