Saving Gladys Hi, my name is Amy Willier, and I’m writing ask you to help my great friend Gladys Kahoro-Easthope. Gladys is a vibrant, funny, charismatic friend of mine. She is energetic and enthusiastic. She always puts other people ahead of herself, and is a loving mother. She came to Canada to better her life, and takes every opportunity to help her son, who is still back in Kenya. Gladys wants to bring him here so he can be safe. He is getting beat up by dangerous people who target young men. The problem is her resident application just got rejected and she will be deported unless she can get it delayed. We want to help her hire a reputable immigration lawyer. Michael Greene is a renowned immigration lawyer, the only one known to be able to work a miracle like this. He has spoken with Gladys, and knows her case. Once retained, he will first work on getting the government to delay her deportation, and then work on processing an “outside of Canada” application to return. My mom talked with him, and he said it’s not hopeless. Michael Greene (http://sherrittgreene.com/ourlawyers/michael-greene-q-c/), I’ve known Gladys for 8 years. Her family is not well off. She was very impoverished back in Kenya, and she has made her own way in the world. She first came to Canada in 2006 as a professional athlete, a runner. She later worked for Running Canada. She traveled the world running in different countries. It was a clear way to make her own way and provide for her young son back in Kenya. While racing in Canada in 2006, Gladys found out she faced a forced marriage and female circumcision if she returned to Kenya. She sought refugee status. She’s enthusiastic about creating a new life for her and her son here in Canada where there is rarely trauma and a significantly less amount of hardships. We consider Gladys family, and she calls us her “Cree family”. Gladys met her husband Kelly in Calgary. Kelly is my brother’s best friend, and is a Canadian. My mom Yvonne is a marriage commissioner, and she conducted Gladys & Kelly’s marriage ceremony in 2011. All of Gladys’s immigration problems have stemmed from being bad at paperwork in my opinion. On multiple accounts, Gladys and Kelly filled out the papers incorrectly. A while ago, they hired a Toronto lawyer who demanded to be paid upfront, but gave them no results, no progress, no nothing. Later they found out he was known as a “taker”. Kelly applied for permanent resident status for her, and the government lost her documents. Luckily, Gladys had kept a photocopy. After a lot of back and forth, she was granted permanent resident status! Unfortunately, she was back in Kenya at the time, visiting her son. The government would not let her sign the papers at the consulate, and told her she breached her immigration agreement because she left Canada without telling them. She did not know she had to tell them when she left the country. She got stuck in Kenya for 3 years. Kelly worked on bringing her back to Canada the whole time, sent money, and even bought a door for her hut! He and his mom Carol have spent all the money they have on the immigration process. Finally, Gladys flew to the US and walked through the border in Montreal. She was allowed to come home to Calgary. She has been working here, saving money, and working on her immigration papers. Gladys’ son is still in Kenya. It is her dream to bring him to Canada. Kenya is a hard place. It’s hard for Canadians to understand how dangerous it is to live there. Her son is someone who organizes positive activities for the youth in his community. He has recently become a target for violent groups. This December, Gladys’ son was beat up in Kenya. The police said there was not enough evidence, and to “wait until it happens again.” The next day, Gladys got a letter from the Canadian government, scheduling a “removal interview.” She was advised to leave Canada by Jan 4. The news is devastating. The timing with the holiday closures could not be worse. This is why I am urgently asking you to support Gladys, to please donate whatever you can, to help her hire the lawyer ASAP. Gladys’ believes she can make a good life here and give back to society in a way she is not able to over there. Her son will have a future here. She is terrified he will be killed if he remains in Kenya any longer. Gladys works, she helps people, she volunteers and gives back. Her life is here. She plans to work 3 jobs to finance her immigration process if she is allowed to stay. She doesn’t know how to restart her life if she ends up back in Africa. How she will be able to support herself and her son? Please help Gladys. Please donate anything you can. Anything you are able to donate will go a long way. Thank you for reading this, and for helping Gladys. Sincerely, Amy Willier