Help a family with a young baby stuck in Vietnam

I am posting this on behalf of my friend Meghan who is currently in Vietnam, as Go Fund Me is blocked by Vietnamese servers.

Our Story

We learned we were expecting our little girl, Claire, in August of 2020, while living in Vietnam. Having a baby in Vietnam was the best option because of ongoing travel restrictions with both the U.S. and Ireland. We could not have been together for the birth of our daughter, who was born in late March 2021, unless we stayed here. Due to closed borders, our families were unable to visit during this time, and none of them have met Claire. 

There have been a number of lockdowns since late April, and the situation is getting worse. Since mid-June, restrictions have tightened to nearly unbearable levels. There is no public transportation operating and you may not leave your ward (neighborhood). You can only shop for groceries with a timed ticket - we haven't received any, so we've been relying on delivery services, which can take 2-3 weeks to deliver. It is even prohibited for us to go outside for exercise, which is incredibly draining. 

They just announced that starting on the 23rd, EVERYTHING (including grocery stores) will be closed for the next 1-2 weeks and there will be no deliveries of any kind. The Army has been sent in to make sure nobody is leaving their homes. Everyone has to stay inside. 

We desperately want to leave and be able to move to Ireland to be near James’s family (it is much easier for me to get an Irish visa than it is for James to get an American visa). Due to the lockdowns, we have been unable to get all of Claire's paperwork in order to ensure she has proper documentation to leave the country, namely her birth certificate and passport.

Getting paperwork for things in Vietnam is a massive hassle that can take weeks, or even months. Nearly 5 months after she was born, we are still trying to obtain Claire’s birth certificate. When the parents are unmarried, the baby must take the mother's last name, and the father's name cannot appear on the birth certificate. Even after producing a DNA test, we were still told that James could not be named as the father. 

We finally got all the paperwork together, but the respective offices are closed so we cannot get anything processed. In addition, both embassies will not give us emergency passports without the Vietnamese birth certificate. James has been working reduced hours due to the pandemic, and I've been teaching part time online to Chinese students, but my company is closing soon because of new restrictions introduced to China. 

It will take around 8 weeks to process all of Claire's documents before we can leave, and we cannot do anything until the restrictions are lifted. These past few months have been physically and mentally exhausting, and we are worried about how we will afford to move to start a better life for our daughter.

Because of our limited income, it is impossible to set aside money to leave the country. I feel like I have exhausted all my options. I never expected to be in this situation, but we desperately need funds to be able to move out of Vietnam as soon as we physically can. 

I appreciate your time for reading all of this. It doesn't even have to be much. If you can and want to, even $5 is helpful. Even if you cannot donate, please send prayers and good thoughts our way. Any support and help will be greatly appreciated by our family.

*Feel free to share this, but if you do, please refrain from tagging James or I as it may jeopardize our current employment situation*