Help An Extraordinary Refugee Family Secure Their Future

Laurie and I first met the Akol family through dear friends at the church we joined after moving to St. Petersburg in July 2024. From the moment we heard their story, our hearts have been forever changed.

This is a devoted mother (52) and the five young lives she has fiercely protected: three dedicated sons (ages 22-24), a bright-eyed 18-year-old daughter full of dreams, and a 26-year-old uncle who has become like an older brother to them all. Born in South Sudan, they survived the horrors of civil war and targeted ethnic violence, which shattered their childhoods and forced them to flee for their lives in 2014. After years of fear and uncertainty in Uganda’s refugee settlements, they were among the very few—thoroughly vetted and selected—to begin a new life in the United States. In January 2025, they arrived in Florida filled with hope, believing safety and opportunity were finally within reach.

But almost immediately, the support they had been promised evaporated. The structured assistance that was historically provided to “newcomers,” intended to help them enroll in school and ESOL programs, find employment and housing, purchase everyday groceries and navigate the healthcare system, was drastically slashed without warning. This resilient family of six was left to face an unfamiliar country almost entirely on their own.

We watch them with awe and often with tears in our eyes. Their quiet, unbreakable courage humbles us every single day.

The teenage daughter—who’s education in Uganda had been limited to the primary grades, taught in a classroom accommodating between 100 and 300 students—now rises each morning eager to attend high school. She studies late into the night, quietly reminding herself (and with us gently also reminding her) that education is her pathway to a brighter future.

Her brothers and uncle had been waking before dawn for exhausting shifts at a baking company in another city across the county, but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of a dedicated team of local volunteers (led by one truly remarkable person we call their “Angel”), the men are now in better-paying housekeeping positions at a local hospital. These new jobs are half the travel distance from home and conveniently located directly on a bus route—a significant improvement— and while returning home completely drained, they still greet their mother with warm smiles and reassure her, “Everything is fine,” so she won’t carry additional worry.

However, the cost of food, medical insurance premiums and exams (Medicaid has already ended for half of the family members), much needed dental work (none have ever visited with a dentist), vaccinations, and assorted mandatory paperwork filings and applications ranging from $600 to $1,000 per person… these costs amount to thousands of dollars this family does not have.

Everyday life brings relentless financial pressure:

The entire family of six lives in a very small, cramped two-bedroom apartment in one of Florida’s most expensive counties. The young men share one room, sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder, while the mother and daughter share the other. Nearly every dollar they earn is immediately consumed by exorbitant rent, rising utility bills, basic groceries, bus fares, and other household necessities. The limited food assistance they once received—which was already insufficient to properly feed six adults—has now completely ended (food stamp benefits stopped in November under new criteria for newcomers). These basic expenses of food, transportation, and essential supplies devour their paychecks faster than they can bring money in.

The three young men who are working are now eligible to purchase health insurance through their employer. However, the Medicaid health insurance coverage for the mom and daughter is scheduled to expire in just a few months and they will need to find private insurance, adding another layer of financial anxiety to their already stretched budget.

They have never asked for a handout. Instead, they dedicate themselves fully to their jobs and English classes (or high school for the daughter), work toward driver’s licenses, and push tirelessly to improve their circumstances. Through sheer determination and profound gratitude, they have transformed deep loss and trauma into steady, hopeful progress—a journey that leaves everyone who knows them deeply moved.

But without immediate additional help, everything they have fought so hard to build—their safety, their future, their dreams—could slip away. Building a financial buffer, a bridge, is a final, critical step between them and the stable life they have earned through years of unimaginable sacrifice.

Any funds raised will not be given as a lump sum to the family. Rather, we will oversee all distribution to ensure monies are used to pay directly for essential needs and services in support of this family, using them responsibly and in alignment with this fundraiser’s purpose.

If their story has touched your heart the way it has ours, please consider giving whatever you are able—even a small amount, like $5 or $10 — truly makes a difference. Your generosity will go directly toward covering these essential, life-changing fees and help this remarkable family finally stand on solid, secure ground.

From the deepest part of our hearts, thank you for caring.