COVID19 Fund for Nauru Refugee Family of Six
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CRITICAL UPDATE
Refugee family sick and isolated by COVID-19. Need your help to get through isolation.
This GoFundMe page was originally set up by the Aussie-run Ads-Up Refugee Network to help the Bandara family get through the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and relocate to Texas from California, where rents are more affordable (see full story below). Today we are relaunching the page due to terrible new circumstances.
In early June, 19-year old Sandun became ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Since then Sara (24), Ama (27) and father Ruwan (who has diabetes) have also tested positive. They are waiting on results for 9-year-old Amashi. To date no one in the family has had to be hospitalised (although there are fears for Ruwan). But the period of family lockdown continues to get longer. Sandun is still testing positive more than 4 weeks later.
Sara and Sandun have both found jobs but cannot start work until this period of isolation comes to an end.
They have applied for unemployment benefits but the US system is overloaded and it is taking weeks, sometimes months, to even find out if an application is successful. They have food stamps but no money to continue to pay for rent and utilities.
Please help this resilient family to get through the COVID-19 crisis and stay on course to a new life. All contributions go directly to the family's bank account.
FULL STORY
Sara, 24, used to work two jobs: one in a factory and the other at a restaurant. She would wake at 4am each day to start her 6am factory shift and would not finish her restaurant shift till 10:30pm.
She helped he 19-year-old brother Sandun get part time work at the factory to help the family to cover costs.
Now, COVID-19 has thrown their family into crisis. While Sara and Sandun have returned to their factory jobs, the income is still not enough to cover rent.
The Aussie-run Ads-Up Refugee Network has created this emergency GoFundMe and linked it directly to the family’s bank account. If you can, please chip in now to help give them a fair go, so they can cover rent and food for six, including a 9-year-old >>
The Bandara family are among more than a dozen Nauru refugee families who were in the early stages of rebuilding their lives in the USA when the COVID-19 crisis hit. They spent four years stranded on Nauru in conditions condemned by the UN and Amnesty International before being resettled in California.
Over 20 years ago, the Bandara family fled targeted violence in Sri Lanka, and were then stuck for 14 years as refugees in India. In 2014 they fled insecurity in India in hope for a better life in Australia. Days before they made it to Australia, the government instituted a sudden change to the refugee policy, meaning they were sent to offshore immigration detention rather than resettled, like those who arrived just days earlier.
Please chip in to give the kids in this family a fair go >>
Before the California COVID-19 lockdown, both Sachini (mother) and Ruwan (father) were unable to work due to serious medical conditions they acquired while in detention. The eldest daughter, Ama (27), was at home caring for her daughter Amashi, 9, and her parents. Sara has been the primary breadwinner for the family since they arrived in the US.
The family told us they have tried their best to make a life in California, but the cost of living has become unbearable. When COVID19 struck California hard and the family found themselves unable to pay the rent they made the decision to relocate to Texas where rents are more affordable. They plan to drive to Texas in the future, where rent is much cheaper, to start anew.
Like many families across the globe, they are doing their best to keep their children engaged and bills paid. It’s a challenge, Sara told us. We hope we can receive some support to relocate to Texas. We hope we will find somewhere safe. A new home, that with hard work, we can afford to live and raise young Amashi and give her a good future.
Please chip in what you can, it will be deposited directly to the family’s account the next day >>
To volunteer with our network and learn more about our work in America and Canada, visit the Ads Up Refugee Network website .
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the family, and their extended family back in Sri Lanka.
The Ads-Up Refugee Network's COVID-19 Fundraisers for Nauru families resettling in the USA:
– Single mother with four daughters Ft Wayne, Indiana
– Expectant mother, North Carolina
– Family of four from Sri Lanka Buffalo, New York
– Second family of four from Sri Lanka Buffalo, New York
– Family of five in Elizabeth, New Jersey
– Family of five in El Cajon, California
– Single mother with four kids in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Refugee family sick and isolated by COVID-19. Need your help to get through isolation.
This GoFundMe page was originally set up by the Aussie-run Ads-Up Refugee Network to help the Bandara family get through the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and relocate to Texas from California, where rents are more affordable (see full story below). Today we are relaunching the page due to terrible new circumstances.
In early June, 19-year old Sandun became ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Since then Sara (24), Ama (27) and father Ruwan (who has diabetes) have also tested positive. They are waiting on results for 9-year-old Amashi. To date no one in the family has had to be hospitalised (although there are fears for Ruwan). But the period of family lockdown continues to get longer. Sandun is still testing positive more than 4 weeks later.
Sara and Sandun have both found jobs but cannot start work until this period of isolation comes to an end.
They have applied for unemployment benefits but the US system is overloaded and it is taking weeks, sometimes months, to even find out if an application is successful. They have food stamps but no money to continue to pay for rent and utilities.
Please help this resilient family to get through the COVID-19 crisis and stay on course to a new life. All contributions go directly to the family's bank account.
FULL STORY
Sara, 24, used to work two jobs: one in a factory and the other at a restaurant. She would wake at 4am each day to start her 6am factory shift and would not finish her restaurant shift till 10:30pm.
She helped he 19-year-old brother Sandun get part time work at the factory to help the family to cover costs.
Now, COVID-19 has thrown their family into crisis. While Sara and Sandun have returned to their factory jobs, the income is still not enough to cover rent.
The Aussie-run Ads-Up Refugee Network has created this emergency GoFundMe and linked it directly to the family’s bank account. If you can, please chip in now to help give them a fair go, so they can cover rent and food for six, including a 9-year-old >>
The Bandara family are among more than a dozen Nauru refugee families who were in the early stages of rebuilding their lives in the USA when the COVID-19 crisis hit. They spent four years stranded on Nauru in conditions condemned by the UN and Amnesty International before being resettled in California.
Over 20 years ago, the Bandara family fled targeted violence in Sri Lanka, and were then stuck for 14 years as refugees in India. In 2014 they fled insecurity in India in hope for a better life in Australia. Days before they made it to Australia, the government instituted a sudden change to the refugee policy, meaning they were sent to offshore immigration detention rather than resettled, like those who arrived just days earlier.
Please chip in to give the kids in this family a fair go >>
Before the California COVID-19 lockdown, both Sachini (mother) and Ruwan (father) were unable to work due to serious medical conditions they acquired while in detention. The eldest daughter, Ama (27), was at home caring for her daughter Amashi, 9, and her parents. Sara has been the primary breadwinner for the family since they arrived in the US.
The family told us they have tried their best to make a life in California, but the cost of living has become unbearable. When COVID19 struck California hard and the family found themselves unable to pay the rent they made the decision to relocate to Texas where rents are more affordable. They plan to drive to Texas in the future, where rent is much cheaper, to start anew.
Like many families across the globe, they are doing their best to keep their children engaged and bills paid. It’s a challenge, Sara told us. We hope we can receive some support to relocate to Texas. We hope we will find somewhere safe. A new home, that with hard work, we can afford to live and raise young Amashi and give her a good future.
Please chip in what you can, it will be deposited directly to the family’s account the next day >>
To volunteer with our network and learn more about our work in America and Canada, visit the Ads Up Refugee Network website .
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the family, and their extended family back in Sri Lanka.
The Ads-Up Refugee Network's COVID-19 Fundraisers for Nauru families resettling in the USA:
– Single mother with four daughters Ft Wayne, Indiana
– Expectant mother, North Carolina
– Family of four from Sri Lanka Buffalo, New York
– Second family of four from Sri Lanka Buffalo, New York
– Family of five in Elizabeth, New Jersey
– Family of five in El Cajon, California
– Single mother with four kids in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Fundraising team: Ads-Up Refugee Network (3)
Sara Bandara
Organizer
El Cajon, CA
Stephanie Hunt
Team member
Ben Winsor
Team member
