Support for the Halefom Family

The Brotherly Love Sponsorship Group is fundraising to support the resettlement of the Halefom Family in Philadelphia, following 3 years of living in a refugee camp in Sudan after fleeing genocide in Tigray, Ethiopia.

My name is Avery Doninger and in 2021, I worked for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Sudan supporting Um Rakuba Refugee Camp for Tigrayan refugees, where I met Alene Halefom and his family. Alene was a refugee hired by MSF to work as the Construction Supervisor for the MSF hospital in the camp. The Halefom family fled genocide in Tigray and lived in Um Rakuba Refugee Camp for 3 years. The situation in Sudan deteriorated over time and caused him to lose his job with MSF (no construction materials means no construction). Alene knew they needed to leave Sudan and try to make it to Cairo to create a better life for his family. Despite the dangerous journey, they made it to Cairo, but the situation inEgypt is very difficult for refugees. My neighbors and I came together to form a sponsorship group, “Brotherly Love” through Welcome Corps, a program supported by the US State Department, to resettle the Halefom Family in Philadelphia.

While the minimum amount of funds required by Welcome Corps is $2425 per person, we know the reality of settling a family of four in a new country requires much more than $10,000 over three months. We are hoping to raise $20,000 to provide the Halefom Family time to transition without major financial burden. With your support, the Brotherly Love Sponsorship Group will resettle the Halefom family in Philadelphia where their children can get an education, they will be safe, have enough to eat, build community, and where they can live freely.

The Brotherly Love Sponsorship Group is: Avery Doninger, Dayna Fondell, Fran Cedrone Gress, John Kaufmann, Emily Moore, Kristian Ogungbemi Muinde, Veronica Philipsborn, Mimi Valoy, Alana Wenick, and along with many other neighbors who are pitching in. Welcome Corps requires sponsors to provide broad support in the community where they live; which is where the refugee family will reside, for 90 days. The tasks and needs are vast from daycare to housing to employment.

Meseret and her son, Bana (10 months)

The Halefom Family: Meseret, Bana, Bamlak, and Alene

Bamlak (6 years old)

The Halefom Family’s Story

Alene is an engineer who owned his own construction company in Tigray, Ethiopia. When the war broke out in 2020, he fled Tigray on foot with his wife, Meseret, and 3-year-old son, Bamlak. They walked for 6 days through the desert and over mountains with no food or water. They crossed the river and made it over the border to Sudan where they registered with UNHCR as refugees. There was nothing in the camp. No tents, no tarp, no food, no water. After some time, they were moved to Um Rakuba Refugee Camp, which at the time was not yet a camp – just land. For months there was no humanitarian support. Finally, humanitarian aid organizations began arriving. Alene was lucky to get a job with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) where over time he was able to save money.

Since 2021, the situation in Sudan has deteriorated – multiple coups and heavy civil unrest. Life has been very difficult. While in the camp, Alene had a second son, Bana. His first son, Bamlak, recently reached school age (6), but there were no educational opportunities in the camp – no school. In August 2023, MSF told Alene they had no work for him because they could not access construction materials due to the civil unrest. They hoped for the situation to improve, but in December 2023, Alene and Meseret decided that they needed to leave Sudan to create a better life for their children. They heard there was UN support in Cairo. They traveled to the border in northern Sudan and paid $700 USD per person (saved over the course of 3 years) to cross the border into Egypt – it was an extremely dangerous journey, especially with two young children. Fortunately, they made it to Cairo safely.

They were able to secure housing, but rent is expensive. Avery assisted them so they would have a safe place to be for the next few months while Alene looks for work. They registered with UNHCR and while refugees are permitted to work, Egyptian nationals are prioritized. Alene has been desperately trying to find any kind of work, but has not been successful.

The Halefom Family meets all eligibility criteria for the Welcome Corps Program. However, in the interest of transparency, in the event that their application is unsuccessful, the funds raised to support their resettlement in the USA will go towards resettlement in Egypt.