Hi, my name is Jenna, and I am helping to raise emergency funds for my 22-year-old friend Ayham. Ayham has been forced to make the heartbreaking decision to flee his homeland due to increasing violence and is now pursuing the safety of asylum abroad.

Ayham has successfully traveled from his homeland and has arrived in Malaysia safely, but his arrival is only the first of many steps. Ayham has applied for a student visa to achieve legal residency status and has applied for admission into the Bachelor of Cinematic Arts program at Multimedia University Cyberjaya to study film making. Despite growing up in a refugee camp and facing some of the most horrific forces of violence throughout his life, Ayham has developed a strong passion for filmmaking and visual storytelling.

Growing up in a refugee camp granted extremely few opportunities for economic growth, physical movement, and stability. Ayham fell in love with cinema at a very early age. When physical travel is so restricted, films act as a window to the outside world and as a method to understand people, pain, hope, and identity. Ayham now intends to professionally build a future through education, creativity, and hard work.

I, alongside others who care deeply for Ayham, are working to collect funds to support Ayham's journey. These funds will be used to cover the costs of tuition, application fees, and the academic supplies necessary for the university program. Enrollment in university is one of the only legal pathways to legal residency status, so it is imperative that we raise the required tuition costs.

I had the honor of meeting Ayham and getting to spend time with him this summer. He is extremely kind, intelligent, genuine, and hardworking. He deserves the right to safety, dignity, and opportunity just as every human being does and these funds will allow Ayham to pursue his way forward.

Ayham faces a long journey to achieve legal asylum status. Any and all support would assist Ayham in not only accessing a university program and growing as a filmmaker but also in reaching a level of stability and safety that every human being deserves.