Help Cherifa Find Safe Shelter and Care

Cherifa came to the United States for a better life - a life where she was free from the man who was a threat to her life. She was born and raised in West Africa, and at 16 years old she was forced to marry a 45-year-old man. This man abused her and tortured her for years. When she eventually escaped, she was forced to remain in hiding, and the people hiding her were faced with threats and even imprisonment.

It took unfathomable courage for Cherifa to finally escape her home country, leaving behind her young children, to come to the United States. When she was crossing the border wall into the US, she fell and broke her bones. She is currently wheelchair-bound and in a cast.

She has been in the US for over a month now, and we still can't find her shelter. All of the homeless shelters are at capacity. She is currently sleeping on the cold, hard floor in a public building where people walk around her at all hours. Please help us provide basic necessities for this courageous, kind, strong woman.

All funds will go towards Cherifa's basic needs - if we only raise a couple hundred dollars, we will at least be able to allow her to stay in a motel a couple of nights. If we raise more than that, we can help Cherifa find more stable shelter and finally begin a better life here in the US.

The picture above is from Cherifa's 30th birthday, which is the day I met her. We ate ice cream by the pool at a motel where a volunteer was paying out-of-pocket for her to stay for a few nights. Cherifa is a talented baker and makeup artist. I am proud to call her my friend.

In Cherifa's own words: "So I'm asking anyone who can help me, I beg. I came to the United States here, because of a marriage that I was against, because of a gentleman who almost killed me. I have no where to go, I have nowhere to sleep. I am looking for a place to sleep, to stay, to have a little money to be able to take care of myself."