Reunite this war-torn family
Donation protected
As many of you know Rachel and Dawit met and fell in love while Rachel was serving in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. Then COVID came and she had to leave. She later returned to live with Dawit and continue her work, then on January 26th, they were engaged!
Three days later Rachel's mom was in a horrible accident in Santa Cruz, California. Rachel and Dawit had a beautiful but quickly planned wedding and then Rachel returned to the US to help care for her Mom. A month later Rachel learned she was pregnant. Meanwhile Dawit was stuck in the visa-approval process and a bureaucratic quagmire. Rachel went through her whole pregnancy without Dawit and gave birth to beautiful baby Zellie alone. Dawit was only able to be there through a phone video connection.
That was rough but they were encouraged by Dawit's visa approval pending an in person interview at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia on December 30th. Then the civil war spread across the country. Dawit had to flee his hometown when it became a focal point of fighting and bombing between the government and rebel forces. He stayed in Addis Ababa waiting for his interview but the US Embassy closed and evacuated staff in response to the danger posed by the war. Dawit was stranded and in danger and Rachel was due to have her baby in a few days. Rachel delivered the baby all the while fearing for her husband's life with no US embassy opening in sight and Ethiopia's war raging on.
After LOTS of work by Rachel, an immigration attorney and members of Congress we learned yesterday that Dawit's interview has been successfully transferred to the US Embassy in Zambia!! The interview will be in February!
He has to go there 3 weeks in advance for a lengthy health screening process - this means living where he has no friends or family to lean on for support. Once that process is done he will need a flight to San Francisco . These expenses are on top of all the money he and Rachel have had to spend so he could live in Addis (the capitol) waiting for an interview with our embassy there.
Their love, born across cultures, has survived COVID, the trauma of Rachel's mom's near death, pregnancy and birth, bureaucracy and war. I am asking your help with the final step of bringing this family together. Pitch in what you can as we try to put $5,000 together to support Dawit while he lives away from his home and away from his wife and daughter…and get him a ticket to California so they can finally be together as a family!
All donations go straight to Rachel and Dawit.
Three days later Rachel's mom was in a horrible accident in Santa Cruz, California. Rachel and Dawit had a beautiful but quickly planned wedding and then Rachel returned to the US to help care for her Mom. A month later Rachel learned she was pregnant. Meanwhile Dawit was stuck in the visa-approval process and a bureaucratic quagmire. Rachel went through her whole pregnancy without Dawit and gave birth to beautiful baby Zellie alone. Dawit was only able to be there through a phone video connection.
That was rough but they were encouraged by Dawit's visa approval pending an in person interview at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia on December 30th. Then the civil war spread across the country. Dawit had to flee his hometown when it became a focal point of fighting and bombing between the government and rebel forces. He stayed in Addis Ababa waiting for his interview but the US Embassy closed and evacuated staff in response to the danger posed by the war. Dawit was stranded and in danger and Rachel was due to have her baby in a few days. Rachel delivered the baby all the while fearing for her husband's life with no US embassy opening in sight and Ethiopia's war raging on.
After LOTS of work by Rachel, an immigration attorney and members of Congress we learned yesterday that Dawit's interview has been successfully transferred to the US Embassy in Zambia!! The interview will be in February!
He has to go there 3 weeks in advance for a lengthy health screening process - this means living where he has no friends or family to lean on for support. Once that process is done he will need a flight to San Francisco . These expenses are on top of all the money he and Rachel have had to spend so he could live in Addis (the capitol) waiting for an interview with our embassy there.
Their love, born across cultures, has survived COVID, the trauma of Rachel's mom's near death, pregnancy and birth, bureaucracy and war. I am asking your help with the final step of bringing this family together. Pitch in what you can as we try to put $5,000 together to support Dawit while he lives away from his home and away from his wife and daughter…and get him a ticket to California so they can finally be together as a family!
All donations go straight to Rachel and Dawit.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ron Dwyer-Voss
Organizer
Oceanside, CA
Rachel Lapp
Beneficiary