I am a very close friend of an African refugee family that needs your help.

I met Esdras in 2001 when we were both living and working in Tanzania. He was my translator when I served as co-counsel in an international criminal trial. As a result of his work, he has been banished from his home country and was resettled in a refugee camp in Zambia, where he still lives with his wife and four children.

His youngest child is about 8 years old. I flew to Zambia two weeks after she was born, and when I arrived I was honored to learn that Esdras and his wife named their baby after me. My friends know that I don’t have children of my own, but now I am proud to say I have a goddaughter in Africa.

Over the past 24 years, I have assisted the family by sending them packages of clothes, books and school supplies. Most recently, I have been paying for the tuition of their third child, Emmanuel, at a boarding school where this brilliant 12-year-old boy will have an opportunity to learn and grow. He hopes to be a cardiac surgeon one day, and I intend to help him fulfill that dream.

I would like to do more for this beautiful family, but the Trump administration is “sunsetting” my non-profit job helping refugees settle in America.

The family’s greatest need at this time is to acquire a vehicle so they can visit their son, whose school is a two-and-a-half hour drive away, and shop for their daily needs without struggling through the mud and extreme heat of Lusaka. The price for a reliable car in this part of the world is shockingly high, about $5,000 for a used vehicle.

I need your help in raising this amount for my dear African family. I have a birthday coming up and would greatly appreciate your contributions in lieu of gifts and cards. (My last birthday party was when I turned 16!)

To all my friends and family, thank you in advance for your compassion and generosity.

With much love,

Cindy