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My taxi: Aaliyah's only way to earn a living

Aaliyah drives for a living in San Diego, and a broken engine head gasket has stopped all income for 12 weeks.

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Aaliyah C. Smith
Email verified
San Diego
I make my living with my taxi. 12 weeks ago the engine head gasket failed, and the mechanic says the repair will cost $1,600. Without the vehicle I earn nothing. I have been borrowing from friends to pay rent, and now I have run out of people to ask. I support my 1 children. Before the breakdown I worked eleven hours a day, six days a week. I have been offered extra shifts for the next three months if I can just get the vehicle working. I have a written estimate from a certified mechanic and will upload it here. All money will go toward the parts and labor on the estimate, with a small amount for road tax and insurance renewal. Where the $1,600 goes: • Road tax and insurance renewal: $260 • Towing and inspection: $75 • engine head gasket replacement (parts): $1,265 I never thought I'd be the one asking, and I'm grateful for every bit of support.
#livelihood#repair#driver#employment

Updates from Aaliyah

  1. Thank you all. We're at 2% now ($37). I'm honestly stunned. the first invoice got paid this week.

  2. Small update. $27 so far, the plan for road tax and insurance renewal is now scheduled.

Donations

RecentTop gifts
  • Young-ja Kyung-mi Kwon 🇰🇷 · $10
  • Anonymous 🇳🇬 · $10

    “Every little bit. Hope the April deadline works out. - Ogbomosho”

  • Oshadi Ruwini Pathirana 🇱🇰 · $10
  • Anonymous 🇬🇧 · $27

Reviews

4.5(2 reviews)

Only people who gave to this need, or whose offer to help was accepted, can review it.

  • Avery B. Watson🇬🇧Verified donor
    Amazing support system

    This is the kind of person who restores your faith in humanity. They didn't just offer help; they genuinely cared about my wellbeing and followed through on every commitment.

  • Ayesha Shima Haque🇧🇩Verified donor
    Made me feel heard

    The help I received was exactly what was described and more. This person follows through on their commitments and genuinely cares about making a positive impact.

Questions & comments

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  • Joya Shima Karim

    Hope you make a strong comeback. Don't give up. Blessings!

    • Pavel Volodymyr MakarovPhoto verified

      Hope this works out for you. Please keep us posted. Thinking of San Diego.

      • Zain Farhan Kazmi

        So sorry you're going through this, Aaliyah. It takes guts to ask. Well done.

        • Dolores N. Fernández

          Best of luck. Hope the shop reopens soon. The breakdown of costs made it easy to trust

          • Paisley Torres

            Thanks for sharing this, Aaliyah. This could happen to any of us. My daughter saw me on my phone and now she wants to give her pocket money.

            • Gabriela A. AguilarID verified

              thinking of you and your family, Aaliyah. Hope the shop reopens soon. Thinking of San Diego

              $57 raised of $1,600

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