Hi, I'm Erik and I'm excited to support Simba's new venture creating a sober living home for men recovering from substance abuse in Tucson. "Upendo House" provides recovering addicts with a structured, "stay-clean" environment after completing substance treatment programs. Sober living homes are often the deciding factor for recovering addicts to reintegrate and find productive employment. Without such support, they often return to using substances due to unsupportive social networks and living situations.

Your donation in any amount will help provide Simba's Upendo house with stopgap funding until his contract with a sponsoring clinic is established. Any amount you can contribute is deeply appreciated!

About Simba: I met Simba (pictured second from left) through my church community in Tucson. He is from a privileged background in Burundi, educated both in Africa and the UK. He is a former healthcare administrator and is fluent in five languages. Unfortunately, political unrest in Burundi makes his return unsafe. Simba arrived in Tucson less than a year ago as an asylum seeker and has secured legal permission to work. He is eager to make a positive contribution to his new home country and is already taking strides to set up Upendo House as his primary business. (The word “Upendo” in Swahili means love.) Simba cares deeply for the men already in his care and wants to provide them with the structure and support they need to contribute productively to their families and the Tucson community.

(Note: If you prefer to contribute directly to Simba instead of through the gofundme page, feel free to contact me for details.)