Help Family Seeking Asylum

I sat down with my friend, Daoud, and asked him to talk to me a little bit about his life and why it's been hard for him to support himself and his family. Daoud is a 28 year old man and father, originally from Chad. He now lives here, in the U.S. and is seeking asylum.

I believe it's incredibly difficult and unlikely for the average American, living day to day, to understand the layers upon layers of complexities that bring others deeper and deeper into a world of challenge, and a world of walls they can't seem to climb. Daoud is someone who most definitely fits into this category. Daoud is someone who wants, more than anything, to have a life he is proud of, a life he feels safe in, and a life in which he is able to care for his family. He tells me that there is not a moment that goes by that he doesn't feel stress, and that he doesn't worry. I believe this is a reality for more people on this earth than we typically bring ourselves to realize or to comprehend. In creating this GoFundMe, I'm asking you to try and just hear it, for this moment, and to offer your support to this one individual, to help him and his family make one small step towards getting their feet back on the ground. Please read on to hear from Daoud's own words. I recommend reading it slowly, similar to how he spoke to me. It's quite impossible, but try to imagine what it must be like to sit in his seat.

"To be honest, as an asylum seeker with a pending application, that itself is the biggest stress. I came from a country where I have lost both my parents, from a country where I have experienced torture. I came here and the country has not welcomed me just yet. I can't stop thinking about if I can be deported back and experience the same things I did before. I don't know what my destiny is right now. I haven't completed my studies. This is an obstacle for me now to get a well-paying job. Otherwise, I've tried many alternatives: driving, working at a car dealership, working at a moving company. Driving is very tiring, I can feel the pain from sitting and driving everyday. Still, I do it for a living because I have a family to feed. Two people are relying on me, without me it is going to be very difficult for them to have a life. My wife and my child. I don't know what to say. This financial hardship, I've been going through it since I got married. I haven't been able to pay my bills on time. The car I'm financing, I haven't been able to pay for four months. My car insurance has been cancelled because I haven't been able to make a payment. My rent for this month, I haven't been able to pay it. I'm still hoping and I'm trying so hard but this is the situation without a stable income. I'm just, I don't know. I'm here to look for a better life. This is pretty much it. I have been trying to be a super hero. I think it is not weak to ask for help, but I'd rather provide the help than ask for it."

Please consider donating to Daoud. In the most immediate, we want to support Daoud and his family with $1,200 to retrieve his car as it was towed last week. In the long term, we want to support him to become self-sufficient and to fully tap into the human potential that is almost quite literally bursting at his seams. Thank you with my whole heart.