Help El Fadel resettle his family from Sudan

Help El Fadel Arbab resettle his family from Sudan

El Fadel Arbab lives in Portland, Maine. His commitment to helping others is powerful, and his ability to connect to students is so effective. Originally from the Darfur region of Sudan, El Fadel, a genocide survivor, has worked tirelessly to educate youth, encourage action to end genocide and inspire community engagement. He has spoken many times at events in elementary, middle and high schools, colleges and universities, places of worship and other organizations throughout the Northeast and across the nation. During his talks, he shares how his village in Darfur was attacked by the Janjaweed militia when he was only 12 years old, how his family scattered and was separated as they fled, and how he was left alone to find shelter and survive. He describes to students his journey from a refugee camp in Egypt to Portland.

El Fadel proudly became a United States citizen in the fall of 2009. He works full-time and is a community organizer and educator. Additionally, El Fadel has volunteered at a variety of local charity organizations, including the Root Cellar, the Meg Perry Center, and St. Elizabeth's Essentials Pantry. At St. Elizabeth’s, El Fadel served for several years as an interpreter for other refugees and immigrants and was invited to sit on their Board of Directors.

El Fadel has been working to bring his wife and two young sons, ages 6 and 2, who are both U.S. citizens, to Portland since 2020. War broke out in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where they were living, in mid-April 2023. His wife and two young sons had to flee to a neighboring country because of the escalating violence in Khartoum. They are currently in Saudi Arabia waiting for El Fadel's wife’s visa to come through.

El Fadel devotes his life to giving to so many. He needs our help to bring his family together in Maine and to establish a home here for the four of them.

Funds raised will help secure passage to the United States, rent an apartment suitable for four people, and provide basic amenities for the immediate future.