On October 3rd- just one day before my twin brother and I were supposed to celebrate our birthday,a devastating fire tore through our apartment building, leaving us with absolutely nothing. Although the fire didn’t begin on our floor, somehow, we ended up suffering the most. Our ceiling collapsed, our appliances melted, every corner of our home was destroyed.

My brother and I are both first-year college students, working hard to build a future but now, we’re being forced to put everything on hold to figure out our housing situation. We never imagined something like this would happen to us, especially when we had nothing to do with how it started.

By the time the flames reached our unit, my brother had just enough time to escape. But he couldn’t grab anything. He lost his laptop, clothes, and everything he needed not only for school, but for basic survival. Not only were my brothers belonging destroyed but so were my parents belongings and my own.

We’re asking for help, not just to replace what was lost, but to once again claim a sense of stability and safety. With your support, we’ll be able to secure a new place to live, purchase essential items, and begin picking up the pieces of our lives. No one should have to start over like this, but here we are, trying to move forward from something we never saw coming.

Haitian creole:

Nan dat 3 oktòb la - jis yon jou anvan mwen menm ak frè jimo mwen an te sipoze fete anivèsè nou an, yon gwo dife te ravaje bilding apatman nou an, li pa t kite nou anyen ditou. Malgre dife a pa t kòmanse nan etaj nou an, yon jan kanmenm, se nou menm ki te fini soufri plis la. Plafon nou an te tonbe, aparèy nou yo te fonn, tout kwen kay nou an te detwi.

Frè mwen an ak mwen menm toulede se etidyan premye ane inivèsite, n ap travay di pou nou bati yon avni, men kounye a, nou oblije mete tout bagay sou kote jis pou nou ka chèche solisyon pou lojman nou. Nou pa t janm imajine yon bagay konsa t ap rive nou, sitou lè nou pa t gen anyen pou wè ak fason sa te kòmanse a.

Lè flanm yo te rive nan apatman nou an, frè mwen an te gen ase tan pou l sove. Men, li pa t ka pran anyen. Li te pèdi laptop li, rad li, ak tout sa li te bezwen non sèlman pou lekòl, men tou pou siviv. Non sèlman bagay frè mwen yo te detwi, men tou bagay paran mwen yo ak pa mwen yo.

N ap mande èd, non sèlman pou ranplase sa ki te pèdi a, men pou nou ka reprann yon sans estabilite ak sekirite ankò. Avèk sipò ou, n ap kapab jwenn yon nouvo kote pou nou rete, achte bagay esansyèl, epi kòmanse rebati lavi nou. Pèsonn pa ta dwe oblije rekòmanse konsa, men men nou la, n ap eseye avanse apre yon bagay nou pa t janm prevwa