Help Raihan, a Sudanese refugee.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for clicking this link to learn more about Raihan's story.

For those that don't know my personal story, my name is Steph Devery, I am an Australian adventurer and currently cycling across Africa. In April I was caught up in the war in Sudan while on my bike and I narrowly escaped with my life thanks to Riahan. She is a young Sudanese woman who accompanied a nutty Belgian man, and together they drove straight into the centre of a dangerous war zone to rescue me. We drove for two hours across the entire war-torn city of Khatoum to reach a temporary airstrip where evacuations were taking place. Raihan negotiated our safety through many tense rebel roadblocks during the scariest two hours of our lives where shots were fired and guns pointed at us.

When we arrived at the airstrip, we tried to negotiate Raihan's evacuation but she was refused rescue simply because she was Sudanese. This photo of the moment we had to leave her behind was one of the worst moments of my life. Luckily, with the help of the nutty Belgian, she escaped to Egypt two weeks later.

Now she is struggling to afford to live and she has reached out to me asking for help. I am trying to raise $500 to cover her rent and groceries for the next three months while she tries to secure employment. I will be sending any donations to her via western union as this is the only way she can receive money right now.

The passed six months have been incredibly tough for Raihan. She spent her whole life in Khatoum and this year, she has had to leave her family, friends and home to escape the brutally violent war in Sudan and find relative safety in Egypt. It was a small miracle that she escaped, but she is now facing the harsh realities of being a refugee.

She hasn't been able to find work and those that have been supporting her cannot any longer. She is stuck navigating complicated Egyptian bureaucracy to gain refugee status and is still waiting for an identity card which will help her gain employment and assistance. So right now, simple, she needs help.

Her situation has become so difficult, she is thinking of returning back to Sudan in the middle of the war because she can't find any other solution. Going back into a war-zone surely can't be her best option! I'm working hard to try and find her a job, but for now she really needs some money to afford basic needs and sustain her a little longer. We would both appreciate any donation of any amount.

Raihan risked her life for me and many others, I hope to return some of the kindness that she showed me in my greatest time of need.

As is typical with refugees, it isn't quite straightforward to get her the money as she doesn't have a bank account. What we have organised, is that I will receive any money donated to my account and then send her the money via Western Union which she can collect as cash. I will upload screenshots of every step of the transfer and i'm happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

Given all the devastation that's happening worldwide, it's hard to know how to help or where to possibly start. Donating to help Raihan is an opportunity to make a real and direct difference to someone seriously affected by war.

x