Modoulamin's Dream
Donation protected
One day, my friend Modoulamin, who lives on the fringes of a city in The Gambia, West Africa, earned a little extra money--more than he needed for the family’s food that day. He borrowed a friend’s cell phone, bought some materials and time at a sewing machine in a local shop, and sent me live videos via Skype as he constructed a stylish and attractive dress. I watched in amazement as he skillfully cut and assembled it, working only with a picture in his mind.
For that one moment, he was living his dream: to develop his talent as a clothing designer. He was glowing with joy.
I told him that reaching a goal is like climbing a mountain. You have to map out a path and equip yourself as best you can to make the climb.
He agreed. His number one priority, he said, was to complete his education. That was the key to success. So we started working together via email to prepare him to take his GED exam. He was bright and had already mastered the basics, completing 10th grade before the day that changed everything.
The day that changed everything was the day his mother died of malaria, a few months after giving birth. It was a devastating tragedy. Modoulamin’s father had disappeared just months before, and the family never learned what had become of him. At 17, Modoulamin suddenly became head of the household to four younger children, including the newborn, and an aging grandma in fragile health. They were penniless and soon out on the street.
When I met Modoulamin, the family had been homeless for three years, living on the streets and sleeping under torn mosquito netting at night, huddled against the night’s cold and dangers. He had kept the family together and fed, trying to be both mother and father to the children as best he could. “Family love is the strongest love,” he told me.
Every day, Modoulamin walked for two hours to the forest to chop wood, then walked back and sold the wood for money for the day’s food. And every day he has nourished his dream.
He wants to buy and fence a plot of land, to put in crops to give the family a source of food. With the family safe, he could pursue advanced training and begin a career with his tailoring skills. He could send his siblings to school. Someday he would like to marry and to have children of his own.
That’s what shines from the top of his dream mountain--a fervent dream to be self-sufficient, to provide for his beloved siblings and grandma, whose welfare is entirely in his hands, to show the world his clothing design skills.
He works toward that dream every day.
Recently, he was able to rent a small house. It has no electricity, but it’s shelter and affords the family a little bit of safety. It‘s the first time the 3-year-old has slept under a roof, he told me when they moved in. He’s acquired a laptop that lets him get online without having to rely on borrowing a friend’s phone. He’s using it for preparation for his WASSCE exam, West Africa’s equivalent of a high school diploma, and for his GED so he can have a good shot at higher education one day.
The Threat
But all of that is on the line. If he is forced into homelessness again, the laptop and all his study material will be stolen. He needs rent money. Right now. He needs to keep his internet connection, too. It’s his only connection to his lessons and the outside world.
The family currently has no food. Because of Covid-19, the forest has been closed to wood-gathering. Modoulamin does whatever work he can find. It’s hard to find; it’s the rainy season. And laborers there earn in a month what you would earn in an hour in the US at minimum wage. So what he earns doesn’t go far.
He urgently needs immediate help. Every penny counts, and will be accounted for. It will keep one beautiful family alive and reaching for their dreams.
Because Go Fund Me isn’t established yet in Gambia, I will be receiving your donations for him. forwarding them, sharing with you the proofs of purchase that he will gladly provide, and keeping you up to date about his journey .
He’s a brave, bright, thoughtful, and ambitious young man, up against terrible odds. Please help. His situation is truly dire. And God bless you.
For that one moment, he was living his dream: to develop his talent as a clothing designer. He was glowing with joy.
I told him that reaching a goal is like climbing a mountain. You have to map out a path and equip yourself as best you can to make the climb.
He agreed. His number one priority, he said, was to complete his education. That was the key to success. So we started working together via email to prepare him to take his GED exam. He was bright and had already mastered the basics, completing 10th grade before the day that changed everything.
The day that changed everything was the day his mother died of malaria, a few months after giving birth. It was a devastating tragedy. Modoulamin’s father had disappeared just months before, and the family never learned what had become of him. At 17, Modoulamin suddenly became head of the household to four younger children, including the newborn, and an aging grandma in fragile health. They were penniless and soon out on the street.
When I met Modoulamin, the family had been homeless for three years, living on the streets and sleeping under torn mosquito netting at night, huddled against the night’s cold and dangers. He had kept the family together and fed, trying to be both mother and father to the children as best he could. “Family love is the strongest love,” he told me.
Every day, Modoulamin walked for two hours to the forest to chop wood, then walked back and sold the wood for money for the day’s food. And every day he has nourished his dream.
He wants to buy and fence a plot of land, to put in crops to give the family a source of food. With the family safe, he could pursue advanced training and begin a career with his tailoring skills. He could send his siblings to school. Someday he would like to marry and to have children of his own.
That’s what shines from the top of his dream mountain--a fervent dream to be self-sufficient, to provide for his beloved siblings and grandma, whose welfare is entirely in his hands, to show the world his clothing design skills.
He works toward that dream every day.
Recently, he was able to rent a small house. It has no electricity, but it’s shelter and affords the family a little bit of safety. It‘s the first time the 3-year-old has slept under a roof, he told me when they moved in. He’s acquired a laptop that lets him get online without having to rely on borrowing a friend’s phone. He’s using it for preparation for his WASSCE exam, West Africa’s equivalent of a high school diploma, and for his GED so he can have a good shot at higher education one day.
The Threat
But all of that is on the line. If he is forced into homelessness again, the laptop and all his study material will be stolen. He needs rent money. Right now. He needs to keep his internet connection, too. It’s his only connection to his lessons and the outside world.
The family currently has no food. Because of Covid-19, the forest has been closed to wood-gathering. Modoulamin does whatever work he can find. It’s hard to find; it’s the rainy season. And laborers there earn in a month what you would earn in an hour in the US at minimum wage. So what he earns doesn’t go far.
He urgently needs immediate help. Every penny counts, and will be accounted for. It will keep one beautiful family alive and reaching for their dreams.
Because Go Fund Me isn’t established yet in Gambia, I will be receiving your donations for him. forwarding them, sharing with you the proofs of purchase that he will gladly provide, and keeping you up to date about his journey .
He’s a brave, bright, thoughtful, and ambitious young man, up against terrible odds. Please help. His situation is truly dire. And God bless you.
Organizer
Susan Minarik
Organizer
Darlington, PA