Meet San: a Hard-Working College Student in need of Reliable Transportation.
Meet San
Donate today to help provide him with a reliable vehicle.
San is a 19-year old Kurdish man who fled Iraq with his mother to the United States seven years ago. His father was denied entry and had to remain in Iraq, meaning San has had to adjust to a new culture, take care of his mom, and grow into a man without the presence of his father.
Being thrust into the American education system without knowing English is intimidating to say the least. During my years as a teacher, I have witnessed many kids retreat into their own language and culture and only learn enough English to get by. This has not been the case with San. He has embraced every opportunity to learn English and today speaks it flawlessly. When the opportunity for citizenship came, he jumped at the chance and earned American citizenship when he was 18.
With a high school diploma, language skills, and a sharp mind, San is eminently employable. What he lacks is transportation. Limited to the area that surrounds his home, San walks to a low-paying retail job every day, as the city he lives in doesn’t have a public transportation system. When it rains, he must bring a change of clothes. Though he has interviewed and received offers for higher-paying jobs he is qualified for, none are within his limited radius of reachability.
To get to his community college classes, San hitches a ride or calls an Uber, using up valuable resources in the process. San’s dream is to pursue a finance degree at UTD, an investment that will involve significant expense and an even longer commute than San currently has at the community college.
For around $8000, we will be able to supply San with a reliable vehicle and a year of maintenance that will help him take the next steps toward self-sustainability that are currently out of his reach. Would you join us and help give San this gift? You can donate here.
Story and photo shared with client’s permission
OnRamp DFW uses an advocate model to identify potential clients, meaning we only consider applicants who have been recommended by a community leader who has known them at least 6 months.
