Help My Best Friend Pay Her Tuition
Donation protected
Hello kind humans,
I’m here making this fundraiser for my best friend Reem.
This is Reem’s story:
In 2011, Reem moved to Houston, Texas from Egypt, as a refugee from the uprising that was taking place in the country. She was there in the beginning of it, just when things started getting violent. For ten days, her family was surrounded by gunshots and attacks, till her father decided that they needed to leave the country one way or another.
They were lucky enough to be able to make it Houston where some family friends took them in till they found an apartment for themselves. But of course there was another problem: the visa they’d been granted was a tourist visa, and therefore no one in her family could legally work in the U.S. So for a year and a half, Reem’s dad stayed in Egypt and worked far away from his family, just so they could be safe and get a chance at a better education which is something their family values very much. Finally, her dad found a job in Houston, but unfortunately, when the oil business went downhill, things got bad.
I’d like to bring a point that Reem’s family pretty much finished all their savings from Egypt, because the gap between the U.S. dollar and the Egyptian pound is just far too great as you are very aware. Her father has been laid off for almost two years now, and things are getting pretty bad for her family. She’s had so many mental breakdowns that she now sees a psychologist on our college campus because it’s cheap and affordable, plus she needs the help.
That’s not all.
When her father got laid off, he was on a visa specific only to the company he was working at, so once he was laid off, they basically had no legal status, and of course, they don’t have a citizenship or a Green Card. Therefore, the only way to maintain a legal status was for them to apply for Reem’s mom as an international student so they could all be dependent on her student visa. Part of the requirements for that visa to be approved is to show proof that you have enough money in your bank to pay the tuition, since it’s double the amount for residents. Of course, they didn’t have the money, so they took out money from her dad’s retirement package that he was given when he was laid off (I think, I don’t remember that detail exactly), and to their surprise, when they were doing their tax returns, they found out it was illegal to take any money out of that before her dad reached a certain age, so her family ended up having to pay a HUGE penalty for that, and they already had money problems. She called me that night extremely upset and depressed when she found out, and that’s when I suggested she talk to a psychologist to help her cope properly.
I mentioned that because, when you apply for FAFSA in college, they only go off of your tax returns, without of course knowing the whole story. So when she applied, she basically appeared to be very very rich and well off because of how much she paid for the tax returns, and therefore she’s getting no aid.
It’s tragic if you ask me.
Reem also has two brothers in high school, one who is going to college next Fall. Her brother is going to need a car as well, not to mention they already lost one of their cars in the floods that happened in Houston in April. As you can tell, Reem hasn’t been having a particularly easy life lately, so I really want to help her.
She just sent me a screenshot of her tuition next semester, and we both got a heart attack honestly.
Before you say anything or assume things, Reem has been trying to get a job for a while now, but with only two cars, and one of her brothers working and the other taking a dual credit summer class, she has a lot of commitments and her schedule is very messy which is why it’s been pretty much impossible for her to get a job anywhere.
Her mother got a job as an assistant teacher, but she gets paid very little as you can imagine. Her father is proactively trying to find a job, with no luck yet unfortunately, as you know how bad the oil business is nowadays.
Reem is a very private person and very self-dependent, so she pretty much never asks for help, but I think this is a situation where she deserves to get some help.
She’s a very hard worker; she’s part of the Honors college at our university, and she’s currently doing pre-optometry, even though she’s only moved to America in 2011 as a refugee, which is pretty damn impressive if you ask me.
Please please please help my best friend pay for her tuition, because honestly I’m scared that something might happen to her or she’ll have to drop out and work, and I definitely do not want that to happen especially after how far she’s come—literally from a war arising in another continent to the Honors college in Houston!
Thank you in advance, and let’s help her have something good in her life after a series of so many unfortunate events!
Our tuition is due in early August, so the sooner can raise this money, the better!
I'm sure she's going to be ecstatic if she finds out she doesn't have to worry about her tuition this semester at least! Thank you all again! :) <3
I’m here making this fundraiser for my best friend Reem.
This is Reem’s story:
In 2011, Reem moved to Houston, Texas from Egypt, as a refugee from the uprising that was taking place in the country. She was there in the beginning of it, just when things started getting violent. For ten days, her family was surrounded by gunshots and attacks, till her father decided that they needed to leave the country one way or another.
They were lucky enough to be able to make it Houston where some family friends took them in till they found an apartment for themselves. But of course there was another problem: the visa they’d been granted was a tourist visa, and therefore no one in her family could legally work in the U.S. So for a year and a half, Reem’s dad stayed in Egypt and worked far away from his family, just so they could be safe and get a chance at a better education which is something their family values very much. Finally, her dad found a job in Houston, but unfortunately, when the oil business went downhill, things got bad.
I’d like to bring a point that Reem’s family pretty much finished all their savings from Egypt, because the gap between the U.S. dollar and the Egyptian pound is just far too great as you are very aware. Her father has been laid off for almost two years now, and things are getting pretty bad for her family. She’s had so many mental breakdowns that she now sees a psychologist on our college campus because it’s cheap and affordable, plus she needs the help.
That’s not all.
When her father got laid off, he was on a visa specific only to the company he was working at, so once he was laid off, they basically had no legal status, and of course, they don’t have a citizenship or a Green Card. Therefore, the only way to maintain a legal status was for them to apply for Reem’s mom as an international student so they could all be dependent on her student visa. Part of the requirements for that visa to be approved is to show proof that you have enough money in your bank to pay the tuition, since it’s double the amount for residents. Of course, they didn’t have the money, so they took out money from her dad’s retirement package that he was given when he was laid off (I think, I don’t remember that detail exactly), and to their surprise, when they were doing their tax returns, they found out it was illegal to take any money out of that before her dad reached a certain age, so her family ended up having to pay a HUGE penalty for that, and they already had money problems. She called me that night extremely upset and depressed when she found out, and that’s when I suggested she talk to a psychologist to help her cope properly.
I mentioned that because, when you apply for FAFSA in college, they only go off of your tax returns, without of course knowing the whole story. So when she applied, she basically appeared to be very very rich and well off because of how much she paid for the tax returns, and therefore she’s getting no aid.
It’s tragic if you ask me.
Reem also has two brothers in high school, one who is going to college next Fall. Her brother is going to need a car as well, not to mention they already lost one of their cars in the floods that happened in Houston in April. As you can tell, Reem hasn’t been having a particularly easy life lately, so I really want to help her.
She just sent me a screenshot of her tuition next semester, and we both got a heart attack honestly.
Before you say anything or assume things, Reem has been trying to get a job for a while now, but with only two cars, and one of her brothers working and the other taking a dual credit summer class, she has a lot of commitments and her schedule is very messy which is why it’s been pretty much impossible for her to get a job anywhere.
Her mother got a job as an assistant teacher, but she gets paid very little as you can imagine. Her father is proactively trying to find a job, with no luck yet unfortunately, as you know how bad the oil business is nowadays.
Reem is a very private person and very self-dependent, so she pretty much never asks for help, but I think this is a situation where she deserves to get some help.
She’s a very hard worker; she’s part of the Honors college at our university, and she’s currently doing pre-optometry, even though she’s only moved to America in 2011 as a refugee, which is pretty damn impressive if you ask me.
Please please please help my best friend pay for her tuition, because honestly I’m scared that something might happen to her or she’ll have to drop out and work, and I definitely do not want that to happen especially after how far she’s come—literally from a war arising in another continent to the Honors college in Houston!
Thank you in advance, and let’s help her have something good in her life after a series of so many unfortunate events!
Our tuition is due in early August, so the sooner can raise this money, the better!
I'm sure she's going to be ecstatic if she finds out she doesn't have to worry about her tuition this semester at least! Thank you all again! :) <3
Organizer
Suhi M.
Organizer
Spring, TX
