Help the Alshaikh family get to a safe place

*Please note that this fundraiser is in Canadian dollars so if you are contributing from the US or elsewhere kindly adjust your donation accordingly.*

Hello! I am fundraising to help my dear friend Ismail and his young family escape the escalating war in Khartoum so that they can reach a safe state in Sudan and begin the process of relocating to a different country. I am Jaime, a Canadian citizen who lived in Khartoum between 2008 and 2011 while working with the UNDP. The people of Sudan touched me profoundly with their generosity, kindness and peaceful way of life. Ismail was no exception. He and I became good friends during those years and have remained steadfast pals ever since. Those of you that know him know just how far he would go to help someone in need. That's what made him such a fantastic professional fixer - working with organizations like Vice, Associated Press and National Geographic up until his life got turned upside down. He is the one in need now and I am asking all who can to please help him, with whatever you can, so that he, his wife, their baby boy, and Ismail’s siblings can reach a place of safety where they can take a long awaited exhale and start to plan a path forward away from the life threatening violence that has taken over Khartoum.

Since the war broke out in April 2023, Ismail and his family have been forced to flee their ancestral home, abandoning all personal belongings and precious memories to relocate in another part of the city. However, in recent weeks the fighting, looting and random bombing have moved closer and closer to where they are now living. The family is in real danger. They are currently trapped inside a house with active warfare on all sides.

After dealing with complications during the birth of their child just before the war, and then losing his father in the midst of the war, the young couple is left with little in the way of savings. Unfortunately they have been waiting on paperwork to complete passport applications but with all administrative operations now shut down in the capital, it is impossible for them to receive passports and flee to a safe country from where they currently stand. They need to get to a different part of Sudan.

The journey out of Khartoum to Red Sea State is a dangerous but necessary one and the sooner it is done the better. It is becoming increasingly clear that the worst is yet to come in Khartoum and supplies for basic needs are quickly running out, specifically for their sweet baby boy. Travel expenses and rental prices have skyrocketed due to the instability in the nation. The plan for this money raised is to get the family to the safe area of Red Sea State in Sudan as soon as possible, so that they can find jobs and a place to live while they finish the process of getting passports. The journey out of Khartoum to Red Sea State plus accommodation for two months in addition to paperwork would cost the following: Transportation $150 per person ( two major bus journeys, internal travel and transit ) =$750. Accommodation for five for a duration of two months= $3000. Paperwork ( three new passports, two renewals and full baby papers) estimated @ $1500. A total of $5250 USD (@7300 CDN) can end the nightmare for this family now, and from there, getting to another country would be an easier task.

Regular banking systems are not functioning in Khartoum right now, but the initial travel funds ($750 USD) will be delivered through an international bank transfer from my Canadian bank account to a friend in Saudi Arabia, and through a group of reliable people, that have previously received and brought funds to the Alshaikh family, we will get the money to them so that they can get out of immediate danger and travel to Port Sudan in Red Sea State. Once they are in Port Sudan, they will be able to receive the rest of the funds ($4500 USD) through Western Union which is functioning without any issues there.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. Your contribution will be appreciated more than you can imagine. Any amount helps. My friend's life literally hangs in the balance.