Syrian refugee family
Donation protected
We've "adopted" a local Syrian refugee family in San Diego and would love your help getting them some things that they need to jump start their lives here.
Their story:
The Al Assaf family is originally from Homs, Syria. In 2011, the war started in that area & their home was destroyed. They said their home was bombed the day after they fled & they only had time to leave with the clothes on their backs. I can’t even imagine as they have very small children and the mother/wife was pregnant at the time they had to flee! They spent the last 3 years in a camp in Jordan where they said they were treated very poorly by the people there. In Jordan, refugees are severely discriminated against and treated like second class citizens. They wanted desperately to get out and are happy to be relocated here where they say the people are much nicer to them! (We hope they can continue to have this experience here).
It took 2 years to process their refugee status to be accepted into the U.S. and they do have legal status. (All refugees go through a 2-year intense vetting process before coming to the U.S.) They said they left most of their family in Syria (parents etc) but the father has siblings who fled to Canada, Turkey & Lebanon. They have 5 children ages 7, 5 (twins),4 & 3 and arrived in San Diego just 4 months ago.
We are two families working with this family, Jackie and Yoshi Mifune, and Judy and Larry Sowder. Jackie's family spent 2 hours with them & the case worker to just get to know them a bit. The mom was studying to become an Arabic teacher when the war struck & the father Khalad has been a truck driver for over 20 years. He cannot find work as a commercial driver just yet because of the language barrier but he is studying English hard every day and is very eager to start working again. The refugee programs provide a small amount of support but it's really not enough to even cover their monthly rent & it's only for a limited amount of time.
Their lives have been unexpectedly uprooted and they could use so many basics. The money raised will be used towards their living expenses as well as a used car, clothes, toys for kids, school supplies, kitchen supplies and maybe a home computer so they can keep in touch with family.
We'd like to be able to take this material burden off their shoulders so that they can focus on resettling, learning English, finding jobs, and becoming themselves again.
Please help us give them a warm welcome to America!!!
Thanks to Heart4Refugees-SCN for introducing us!
-Jackie and Yoshi, Judy and Larry
...............................
For verification purposes- the Mifunes live in San Marcos, CA and the Sowders live in El Cajon, CA. This campaign is coordinated with Heart4Refugees.org, a non profit based in San Diego that seeks to help the Syrian refugees who have been resettled here and support them during their transition to their new lives in the US.
We plan to work with the family, show them that they are safe, welcomed, and loved here. Upon receiving donations we will withdraw the funds and use them to purchase the items listed above and then personally deliver these items as we purchase them. We will try to visit them every month or sooner and will provide updates!
(Picture is of their 5 children with Jackie’s 3-yr old daughter during a recent visit)
Additional Verification:
1. Who you are and where you’re from - My name is Jackie Mifune and I'm from San Marcos, CA, and our names are Judy and Larry Sowder from El Cajon, CA.
2. Your relationship with the parties for whom you are raising funds and your method of contact with them – We’ve adopted a local Syrian refugee family. We see this family in person about once a month and we are in contact via telephone and text message. This campaign is coordinated with Heart4Refugees.org, a non profit based in San Diego that seeks to help the Syrian refugees who have been resettled here and support them during their transition to their new lives in the US.
3. How the funds will be spent (be specific as possible) - The money raised will be used towards their monthly rent gap ($450/month for 12 months), school supplies, Kitchen supplies ($120), clothes for each person ($100x7), used car fund ($3,000), lap top ($2,000). I also hope to raise funds to pay their airfare back to the U.S. government ($1200 x 7 ppl)
4. Your specific plan for how the funds will be withdrawn from and sent to the beneficiary of the campaign?
We will withdraw the funds into our bank and we will purchase these items and hand deliver to the Al Assaf family. Heart4Refugees strongly advises against us giving any cash directly to the Al Assaf family. As for the rent gap, Jackie will send directly to the apartment manager. We see this family about once or twice a month.
Help spread the word! Please share this GoFundMe page with your network!
Their story:
The Al Assaf family is originally from Homs, Syria. In 2011, the war started in that area & their home was destroyed. They said their home was bombed the day after they fled & they only had time to leave with the clothes on their backs. I can’t even imagine as they have very small children and the mother/wife was pregnant at the time they had to flee! They spent the last 3 years in a camp in Jordan where they said they were treated very poorly by the people there. In Jordan, refugees are severely discriminated against and treated like second class citizens. They wanted desperately to get out and are happy to be relocated here where they say the people are much nicer to them! (We hope they can continue to have this experience here).
It took 2 years to process their refugee status to be accepted into the U.S. and they do have legal status. (All refugees go through a 2-year intense vetting process before coming to the U.S.) They said they left most of their family in Syria (parents etc) but the father has siblings who fled to Canada, Turkey & Lebanon. They have 5 children ages 7, 5 (twins),4 & 3 and arrived in San Diego just 4 months ago.
We are two families working with this family, Jackie and Yoshi Mifune, and Judy and Larry Sowder. Jackie's family spent 2 hours with them & the case worker to just get to know them a bit. The mom was studying to become an Arabic teacher when the war struck & the father Khalad has been a truck driver for over 20 years. He cannot find work as a commercial driver just yet because of the language barrier but he is studying English hard every day and is very eager to start working again. The refugee programs provide a small amount of support but it's really not enough to even cover their monthly rent & it's only for a limited amount of time.
Their lives have been unexpectedly uprooted and they could use so many basics. The money raised will be used towards their living expenses as well as a used car, clothes, toys for kids, school supplies, kitchen supplies and maybe a home computer so they can keep in touch with family.
We'd like to be able to take this material burden off their shoulders so that they can focus on resettling, learning English, finding jobs, and becoming themselves again.
Please help us give them a warm welcome to America!!!
Thanks to Heart4Refugees-SCN for introducing us!
-Jackie and Yoshi, Judy and Larry
...............................
For verification purposes- the Mifunes live in San Marcos, CA and the Sowders live in El Cajon, CA. This campaign is coordinated with Heart4Refugees.org, a non profit based in San Diego that seeks to help the Syrian refugees who have been resettled here and support them during their transition to their new lives in the US.
We plan to work with the family, show them that they are safe, welcomed, and loved here. Upon receiving donations we will withdraw the funds and use them to purchase the items listed above and then personally deliver these items as we purchase them. We will try to visit them every month or sooner and will provide updates!
(Picture is of their 5 children with Jackie’s 3-yr old daughter during a recent visit)
Additional Verification:
1. Who you are and where you’re from - My name is Jackie Mifune and I'm from San Marcos, CA, and our names are Judy and Larry Sowder from El Cajon, CA.
2. Your relationship with the parties for whom you are raising funds and your method of contact with them – We’ve adopted a local Syrian refugee family. We see this family in person about once a month and we are in contact via telephone and text message. This campaign is coordinated with Heart4Refugees.org, a non profit based in San Diego that seeks to help the Syrian refugees who have been resettled here and support them during their transition to their new lives in the US.
3. How the funds will be spent (be specific as possible) - The money raised will be used towards their monthly rent gap ($450/month for 12 months), school supplies, Kitchen supplies ($120), clothes for each person ($100x7), used car fund ($3,000), lap top ($2,000). I also hope to raise funds to pay their airfare back to the U.S. government ($1200 x 7 ppl)
4. Your specific plan for how the funds will be withdrawn from and sent to the beneficiary of the campaign?
We will withdraw the funds into our bank and we will purchase these items and hand deliver to the Al Assaf family. Heart4Refugees strongly advises against us giving any cash directly to the Al Assaf family. As for the rent gap, Jackie will send directly to the apartment manager. We see this family about once or twice a month.
Help spread the word! Please share this GoFundMe page with your network!
Organizer
Jackie Stewart Mifune
Organizer
San Marcos, CA
