I want to introduce you to Fatima Yehya. We hope that, with YOUR HELP, we will be able to raise enough money so that she can pursue the college education in the United States that she so desires!

Fatima, who prefers to be called “Tima,” is a twenty-year-old young woman living in Tyre, Lebanon, with her parents and five-year-old sister. Though we live half a world away, our family got to know Tima's family during the COVID-19 lock-downs, when she and one of my children forged a friendship, after crossing paths online.

As we have gotten to know Tima better, one thing that has stood out is her enthusiasm for her education and her drive to achieve her goals and create a better future for herself and her family. And while her parents fully support her dream of furthering her education in the United States, as Palestinian refugees, it is just not something they will ever be able to provide for.

The family moved to Lebanon some years ago, in search of a better life and more hopeful future for their children....and then the Lebanese economy crashed. Whereas Lebanon was once the center of tourism in the Middle East, the economy of Lebanon collapsed in 2019 under a mountain of debt, utterly devastating a country once seen as a wealthy and liberal outpost in the Middle East. As I write this, the current rate of inflation in Lebanon is 250%. TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY PERCENT. (According to the World Bank Spring 2021 Economic Monitor, Lebanon is enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression and the financial crisis is likely to rank in the top 3 most severe financial crises globally, since the mid-nineteenth century.)

Government corruption is another issue impacting the family. Tima says, “The corruption of the Lebanese government and the financial collapse within the country makes it almost impossible to make ends meet, no matter how hard someone works!” Hyperinflation has led to extremely low wages and shortages of everyday basic needs, including fuel, food, and medicine. Tima's father Hassan is a local delivery driver. He makes the equivalent of $40 US dollars a MONTH, while her mother Nadia earns $15 working a sixteen-hour day, catering meals for other families - work that she is grateful to have, but is only available during Ramadan and other important holidays.

Previously middle-class families such as Tima's, have been left with impossible choices! With extremely low wages (and food and fuel scarce and ridiculously expensive) Tima's parents struggle to meet their family's basic needs. As a result, the children are losing weight and getting sick. Recently, both children required a trip to the doctor and the family simply could not afford the subsequent tests, medications, and vitamins that the children needed.

When asked why she wants to pursue her education in the United States, Tima's reply is direct and honest. “Part of the reason I want to attend college in the US is my home country being extremely corrupt, and this government corruption took a huge toll on our educational systems. All our classes are online, because the fuel crisis in our country has made it almost impossible to attend on-campus classes. Most families do not have enough money to pay for fuel or public transportation for their kids to get to school. That makes it extremely difficult to get the proper education I strive to achieve.”

Her mother Nadia was so proud when she told me, “Tima was so dedicated to getting what education she could, that she worked nights (pre-COVID) to save up for a small computer so that she could access what online classes were available.

Unfortunately, the shortages and insane prices that followed the financial crash has also meant that electricity (and therefore Internet and computer access) is quite limited every day, making learning even more challenging, especially due to the daily power cuts they have to work around.

Additionally, Tima says that she comes from a culture in which abuse is endemic and mental health issues are considered taboo. “I struggle with untreated bipolar disorder and depression, and I cannot attend therapy or get the help I need, both because of the shame and the cost. My parents could not afford therapy or medications, even if they wanted to.”

It has always been Tima's dream to help others. Because of her personal experience with mental health issues, she desires to major in psychology at Quincy College in Quincy, Massachusetts. Tima has already taken all necessary exams, including an English competency exam, which she aced! She has her passport at the ready! She has secured a place to live while she attends college and her support network in the US is growing day by day.

Together we can give Tima and her family a helping hand, so they may all achieve a brighter future, by allowing Tima to get the education that is currently out of reach for her, amid the devastating hardships the family faces every day in their home country.

As an international student, she will be able to get a US (student) Visa and formally apply to Quincy College only AFTER we have raised enough money to cover her first year in full, approximately $20,000.

NOTE: Anything you can give will mean so much to Tima – and to her family. Any money raised over what Tima will need to meet her college expenses will be gifted to her family, hoping that it will make a difference in their day-to-day lives.