Help Sharmila get out of debt

Hi everyone, my name is Sharmila. I'm a disabled Indonesian-Dutch trans woman from the Netherlands. I’m a business owner, make-up artist, speaker, organiser and part of the Kiki House of Gabbana. I'm asking your help because I’ve been struggling with high debt for a few months now and a lack of paid work.

- Situation:

Because of transparency, I’d like to explain what happened:

Back in December, a man sexually violated me on the train while traveling home around midnight. I was traumatised for months, being too scared to travel by myself for a while and ending up going into EMDR therapy in April. The resulting trauma and stress has had immense impact on my fibromyalgia-related pain and fatigue symptoms.

As a small business owner and chronically ill person, I don't have the most stable income nor the ability to fall back on calling in sick. Since April I’ve had very few paid work opportunities but luckily some savings to sustain myself for a little while. Since June, my savings have run out, and I’ve had to push through health issues to survive and keep myself and my business afloat.

Thanks to support from people in my community and my efforts, I’ve been able to pay off 1/3 of my debt already and find some new gigs since September. I’m currently looking for a parttime job with help from my chosen family and community. And I’ve quit some of the ways to sustain myself that were hurting me in the long run.

- What I need help with:

I’m asking for your help to pay off personal debts which I need to pay off before the end of the year. This way the interest rates will stay fairly manageable. The debts are:

Paying off this debt, especially my medical debt, will allow me to put my money into the care I need for my fibromyalgia, as well as alleviating some of my symptoms that have been caused by this stress.

I will not use this money to pay off business debt. That is my personal issue to solve and I do not feel it is right to ask support from you for that, especially given the state of the world right now.

- Call to action:

Please donate to help me pay off my debts. With your help, I can regain financial stability and continue using my platform to serve and uplift others in my community. If you are unable to donate, sharing this campaign with your network would mean the world to me and could help reach someone who can contribute. Thank you for your support.

If you want to know more about me, what happened or have questions, please go to my instagram @sharmilamua. There is a Stories Highlight on my profile about the incident and my dm's are open for questions.