100% of the funds received through GoFundMe will be paid to GIFT Organization to cover the required funds for private sponsorships for UNHCR refugees to Canada

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Below is the story of Sadia in her own words.

I am SADIA, a 21 years old girl from Afghanistan, who grew up in Pakistan as a refugee. My family moved to Pakistan because we are Hazara, an ethnic group persecuted by the Taliban. I grew up in a refugee camp in Pakistan without basic human rights. I was never provided a formal education, and at the age of 15, I was forced to get married. I love learning [my favorite subject is Math] and I know that I want a life where I can exercise my right to education.

In 2016, at the age of 15, I left my family, and without the companionship of family or friends, began searching for a place of safety and peace. After crossing to Afghanistan I continued to Indonesia.

As a young girl, I struggled and faced countless challenges in Indonesia, beginning with seeking a safe place to stay, being abused, searching for food to eat, and suffering from health issues, to a very long process with UNHCR - weeks and months and years of waiting in uncertainty and limbo.

As I faced some problems outside of camp as a single girl in 2016, which affected me very badly, so in 2018 I started seeing a psychologist from Yayasan Pulih for deep depression.

Although I feel safer from persecution and violence in Indonesia than in Pakistan or Afghanistan, I am still vulnerable and not allowed to work, and most importantly, I am not allowed to have formal education because Indonesia is not a dignitary to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention. I am safer, but not able to progress.

Despite all these limitations, I try to make the best use of time and improve my skills. I joined Roshan Learning Center, an informal learning center for refugees, where I learned English and other subjects. After studying English for a few years, I was accepted into the GED preparation program in Roshan, with the hope of passing four exams and obtaining a US high school diploma equivalence. My hope and dream are to pass the exams and go to college one day.

Additionally, I took a few business workshops at the Atma Jaya University Jakarta through a UNHCR program. With no access to education in Indonesia, and no opportunity to live outside of the refugee shelter, it is very difficult to realize my dreams.

Recently, I began again to have hope. I received a message from my friend who used to be my roommate in the shelter before she was granted asylum in Canada three years ago. She gathered the required sponsors needed for the private sponsorship for UNHCR refugees to Canada! She said she was determined to help me resettle in Canada through this sponsorship program. However, she and the other volunteers could only raise half of the money required for the sponsorship application. This GoFundMe page is to help raise the other half and help me realize my dreams.

Please help me gather this amount of money. I will be extremely grateful, and really, every dollar counts. Thank you for reading my story.

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100% of the funds received through GoFundMe will be paid to GIFT Organization to cover the required funds for private sponsorships for UNHCR refugees to Canada

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