Hello, my name is Larisa Nadine Lopes Fernandes, and I’m asking for your help to raise funds for a lawyer who can help me fight for justice and reclaim my life in the United States.

On March 7, 2017, at just 13 years old, I called the police after being hit on the forehead with a belt and strangled by my stepmother. I had a bump and a scratch on my head and neck. Sadly, this was not the first time I had suffered abuse from her. She was later arrested and charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a minor.

Less than a year later, on February 22, 2018, my father told me we were going on a short vacation to Cape Verde to visit my mother — a woman I hadn’t seen or even heard from since arriving in the U.S. with my father at age 7. I believed him. But it was a lie.

Once we arrived, my father left me at my aunt’s house and returned quietly to the U.S. I never saw him again. He abandoned me without school records, financial help, or even my legal documents — only my Green Card, which is now expired. I was just 14, and I couldn’t fight for myself.

Now I’m 21 years old, still in Cape Verde, and trying to pick up the pieces of what was taken from me. I’m working to get legal support from an attorney, but I need help to cover the cost of legal fees, filing documents, and any necessary immigration steps to restore my life and future.

I am determined to reclaim my rights as someone who was abused, neglected, and abandoned as a child.

Your donations will go toward:

Legal representation and immigration filings

Document recovery and processing

Any other necessary costs to help me return safely to the U.S.

No amount is too small, and even sharing this with others means the world to me. I’m fighting to be heard, to heal, and to find justice. Thank you for standing with me.

With love and hope,

Larisa Nadine Lopes Fernandes