When Mohammed and his family fled Eritrea, they thought they’d find peace in the UK. Then they were caught up in the asylum system, and it felt like they’d never escape the trauma of their past. Zakat was here to help.
All Mohammed ever wanted was to bring his children up somewhere safe, where he’d be able to find secure work and support his family. One of his children has autism and epilepsy, made worse by trauma the family saw in Eritrea, and Mohammed hoped desperately to find extra help for his child.
But they couldn’t have anticipated how long the asylum process would take. With limited English, dependent on benefits and faced with the extra costs of supporting a disabled child, Mohammed found the bills just mounted up and up. The stress was unbearable.
All that changed when a friend from the mosque told him about NZF and helped him apply for Zakat. “The help we get is not enough. Now we must pay the electricity and gas bills that we cannot afford. Even clothes for the children is difficult to afford. Our situation is so difficult,” he wrote in his application.
NZF was able to help with a grant from our Hardship Fund, helping to tackle the family’s most pressing needs. And a further grant from the Work Fund is helping Mohammed study to be a translator.
The family’s journey isn’t over yet, but hope is on the horizon – and Mohammed feels peace at last.
Based on a true story. A volunteer actor has been used to illustrate the impact your Zakat can bring.
