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Resettlement support for 8 people arriving in Bakersfield

The Okonkwo family are rebuilding in Bakersfield after leaving Iraq; your gift pays for housing basics.

🇺🇸 United States1,147 views
Mackenzie Howard
Email verifiedPhoto verified
Bakersfield
My family left Iraq 8 months ago after our home was destroyed. We spent time in a camp before we were resettled in Bakersfield. We're a family of eight and we're safe, but we arrived with very little. Our resettlement agency has provided 3 months of rent, and that support ends in November. I was an electrician in Iraq, and I'm studying the language every evening. Our daughter and son have started school and are doing well. We want nothing more than to be self-sufficient. This fund will help us through the first six months. All purchases will be documented and photos shared (with the family's consent). Where the $4,650 goes: • Rent deposit and first month: $2,100 • Winter clothing and school supplies: $810 • Beds, table and basic furniture: $1,500 • Phone and internet for school and job search: $240 I hope life is good to you.
#refugees#resettlement#family

Updates from Mackenzie

  1. Update from Bakersfield: we've booked the dates and paid the deposit. We're at 10% of the goal. Thank you for believing in us.

  2. Update from Bakersfield: we've started the first stage. We're at 15% of the goal. Thank you for believing in us.

Donations

RecentTop gifts
  • Ayanda W. Coetzee 🇿🇦 · $100

    “Stay strong. Been where you're, it gets better. - Soweto”

  • Rose M. Ocampo 🇺🇸 · $100
  • Malak Hala Habib 🇪🇬 · $100

    “Stay strong. I'm in Cairo, thinking of you.”

  • Vusi H. Petersen 🇿🇦 · $100
  • Julián W. Guzmán 🇦🇷 · $75

    “God bless. I'm in San Miguel de Tucumán, thinking of you.”

  • Axel K. Salazar 🇦🇺 · $53
  • Raimundo Raimundo Santana 🇧🇷 · $50
  • Njoroge Victor Juma 🇹🇿 · $50
  • Nur Tuğba Şahin 🇹🇷 · $50

    “Wish I could do more. Thought of Mackenzie all day after reading this. - Istanbul”

  • Carolina Bruna Xavier 🇧🇷 · $50

    “All the best. Saw your post and had to give. - Belo Horizonte”

  • Lanre Ifeanyi Kalu 🇳🇬 · $41
  • Ekow Mensah Quaye 🇬🇭 · $36
  • Sebastian C. Spencer 🇨🇦 · $30
  • Sun-hee Seo-yeon Ha 🇰🇷 · $30

    “You got this. Small amount but sent with love. - Seongnam”

  • Greyson H. McCoy 🇨🇦 · $30
  • Anonymous 🇬🇧 · $30
  • Mathilde Monique Le Roux 🇫🇷 · $30

    “My mother told me about this one. - Boulogne-Billancourt”

  • Harold D. Lamb 🇬🇧 · $25
  • Danielle P. Norwood 🇳🇿 · $25
  • Ryota Satoshi Yokoyama 🇯🇵 · $20

    “All the best. Hope this covers a bit of it. - Tokyo”

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  • Beth HollandPhoto verified

    Thanks for sharing this. Your post was clear and honest. I went through something like this 14 years ago and strangers helped me out. All the best!

    • Ryszard Piotr Jankowski

      Sending strength, Mackenzie. It takes guts to ask. Well done. Don't give up. Love from Berlin

      • Tim Stijn Sanders

        Wishing you peace. Shared this with my family. Greetings from San Cristóbal de las Casas

        • Ahmed Hassan Kakar

          Hope things get better soon. This could happen to any of us. Put this on a community board in Salvador this morning. Blessings.

          • Michelle W. Douglas

            Wishing you the best, Mackenzie. Everyone deserves a bit of help sometimes. After 26 years in nursing I know how hard it's to ask for anything.

            • Mai Mariko Hara

              keep going. It takes guts to ask. Well done. My late mom used to say help given quietly counts double. Blessings.

              • Susana L. Rojas

                Thinking of you. Reading this made my day a bit heavier but I'm glad I did. I went through something like this 10 years ago and strangers helped me out. God bless

                • Otieno Brian Kioko

                  hope things get better soon, Mackenzie. Shared this with my family. Blessings.

                  $1,101 raised of $4,650

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