I Survived, and now i’m ready to be a Nudge again.
You haven’t heard from me in awhile about the Al-Samadi family. I was fighting for my own life — I had a 20+cm tumor that spread to 3 organs and all though my lymph system. Miraculously I beat it back to remission. I am very thankful, and now ready to fight for Jawad’s life as well.
The Family’s Background
Those of you who have been shopping at Violette’s for awhile know that Jawad is now a 6 year old Syrian refugee whose family lived in the Zaatari tent camp, the largest in the 
world, for years. The family became UN registered refugees in 2012 after their town of Daara was torched to the ground by President Assad forces. Jawad was born in Zaatari with cerebral palsy. With the help of a small Swiss organization, in 2017 they were able to get a small rental house where the whole family lives and sleeps in one room.
We meanwhile, helped the father get the equipment he needed to work as a contractor doing welding and bricklaying. We helped them with rent, and in 2019, also found a Jordanian charity that helped Jawad get the physical therapy he needed. When the pandemic hit, both the Swiss and Jordanian charities folded and I stepped in to pay the medical bills. But at the end of 2022, the clinic who had been treating him 3 times a week, told me they could do no more. Their clinic is very primitive, and while they helped Jawad immensely (he can sit, stand and speak a little now), he needs more care. So when President Biden announced Welcome Corps, a vehicle for allowing US citizens to sponsor refugees, I jumped at the chance to bring the family to the USA. Where Jawad would have a chance at life.
But then I got diagnosed with stage IV metastatic cancer, so my fundraising got put on hold. Now we need to raise $4,000 more for this family of six to come to the USA.
Rasha and Zenab
In addition, there are two nieces that are part of this family, Rasha (25) and Zenab (24). Rasha has kidney failure and is often in need of dialysis. As refugees they don’t qualify for free medical care in Jordan, so the family has to pitch in and help pay for this. Both girls work in a restaurant (when Rasha can) to help pay for her dialysis. So i will be putting together a sponsor group for them as well. Which necessitates raising another $5,000 to bring them to the USA. The money required by the program is the same amount the US Government pays toward UNDCR refugee care for the first 3 months they are in the USA. We have a sink or swim approach in the USA. They get 3 months of help and then must find a job to pay for their living expenses. For this reason, i’ve also been paying for the father and mother to take english lessons. So they are ready when they arrive to get jobs! Once i finish raising the money for the their sponsorship, I will pay for Rasha and Zenab to take English lessons as well.
Can you Help?
We are looking for tax deductible donations and for In-Kind help, if you can’t contribute financially. See the list of ways you can help here. There are many ways you can help, even from the privacy of your home!
You can donate here. Just write Al-Smadi Family or Rasha/Zenab in the project box. Or bring a check by the bakery and get a free cookie!
In Closing
As Many of you know, i went to refugee camps to work 5 times between 2015 and 2020. What i learned is that the refugees who made it to Europe were ones who had money. Those left behind in the tent camps were the poor. Overrun by refugees, Europe stopped taking its full quota from UNHCR, which meant the poor had no vehicle to escape. The USA stopped taking its quota under Trump . Families who were assigned to the USA were turned away.
Poor families like the Al-Smadi’s deserve a chance at a good life too. I know this family will work hard to make a life in the USA and be contributing members of society. Immigrating to the USA will give Jawad a chance of a full life and Rasha too. Please help if you can. It will make a real difference to 8 lives. Eight lives that you have helped make better. Thank you.
