Help Tashia escape

Hi to all our family and friends,

Many of you may (or may not) know that 20 years ago, I left a sexually abusive, financially controlling and isolating relationship. The catalyst to leaving was that I didn’t want my baby son to grow up knowing that, or worse yet, becoming that.

I was one of the lucky ones, because I was fortunate to be living in Australia by then, which had a plethora of support services for women fleeing domestic violence as well as providing basic rental, family and schooling assistance.

Sadly, this campaign is for my young niece Tashia, and her 6 year old son, who live in South Africa where there is none of that kind of support, either financial and emotional, readily available. Tashi’s mum, my sister, died a few years ago and her father has advanced Parkinson’s disease, so there’s no support on the ground for her.

I vividly remember the sheer terror I felt every single day… would he find me and what would he do to us if he did? would he take my son away? what if I couldn’t find work or lost my job?

Luckily, the Australian government provided a roof over my head and basic provisions, so I was able to set up a business from home doing ironing for neighbours in the small town I lived in.

And that was all the start I needed.

Today my son is caring, kind and passionate about protecting the marginalized and has a bright future ahead of him.

All I’m campaigning for is to give Tashia and her son that same chance.

She has literally nothing:

No roof over her head

No car to pick up ironing to start a business like I did (he took her car from her)

No furniture, no linen, no food, no general household basics.

No job (yet… but she has lined up a bunch of interviews and is pursuing those diligently)

The Australian government gave me a small safety net to start again. Tashi doesn’t have that in South Africa. I honestly cannot imagine how scary that would be for her. But she’s brave and I know that she will use any seed funding well to set up a future for her and her young son to escape and build a safe, new and bright future.

I’m appealing to all my Aussie friends and family to give whatever you can to gift this delightfully brave mummy a small chance to have hope and a future.

I know times are tough with interest rates rising and job insecurities, but ANY little bit helps and together it can make a life changing difference.

Thank you in advance, and feel free to call me if you need to ask any questions or have any advice or help to offer.

You all know my number/email address.

I hope we can smash this target together and show Tashi that there are good, kind people out there cheering her on, even from the other side of the globe.