4/5/18 – Update on Sakima’s Family. Her apartment complex has placed her family back on a waiting list for an apartment. The waiting list can take sometimes more than 6 months. The complex and fire department will secure the apartment and the families will be allowed to go in and get whatever items they can still salvage maybe by Friday. Sakima has no where to store the items since her family is homeless until their name comes up on the waiting list or they find alternative housing. She wants her youngest to stay in the school he is at so, for now, she will drive back and forth from hotel and friends homes. Please pray for her to have wisdom and what the family needs for a home quickly.

4/3/18 – Update on Sakima’s family affected by the apartment fire: Today we helped the family of four secure an extended stay hotel that is just under $350 per week that has an extremely small kitchen area, 1 single room with two double beds and 1 bathroom. We are waiting on the apartment’s insurance procedure update, info and necessary proof of fire “vouchers” that will apparently take another week or so to obtain. Meanwhile 8 families are displaced. Asha’s Refuge has purchased immediate clothing items, assisted Sakima with some gas, some cash to have on hand for additional food/toiletries items as needed. This single mom has a need for a small set of pots and pans with cooking utensils for the small kitchen apartment area (update…. pots/pans and cooking utensils donated!), cane for grandma with rubber nonslip tip (she’s still using the stick she found in Africa that is slippery), Kroger cards for groceries and paper products, towels, Visa cards or cash donations for paying hotel fees or future housing/utility deposits. See previous post on how to donate or message us please. Thanks in advance for your help. So far, Sakima says, the family is doing okay.

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Prayers and Support Needed: Yesterday afternoon, an apartment building of one of our refugee families, Sakima, caught fire. It was terrible and kept me tossing and turning through the night. Jake and I were returning a group of children from a days fishing trip when were met with fire truck after fire truck at the children’s apartment complex. My heart sank immediately wanting to know if everyone was safe. When I realized the fire had extended into, and completely affected, Sakima’s home, I ran to see if her family of four was okay. I found her teenage son, Isaac sitting on the edge of the parking lot with no shoes pretty shaken up. He had been trying to call his mother who was at work to let her know but his phone had no power. The phone chargers were inside the apartment. He had gotten his 7 year old brother AND his 72 year old grandmother, who has severe scoliosis, out safely and was in a little panic not able to reach his mom. Luckily Jake had a charging bank and an extra chord he gave to Isaac. We quickly charged his phone. We finally got hold of his mother who rushed home about 30-40 minutes later from work. After some time, the fire department allowed us to go inside this apartment with a security guard, just in the front area, to try and grab what remaining things we could quickly salvage. Isaac and I went in together. When we entered the upstairs apartment it was dark, everything was wet and most of it was charred. I saw two prescription pills on the front table unaffected and grabbed those. We grabbed a bin of shoes (luckily they kept their shoes in a large bin near the hallway… most were wet but maybe okay). Isaac was in a room trying to pull clothes out and suddenly the roof fell in over him!!! He got up and was okay. Thank you God!! The sunlight and blue sky beemed through a hole in the roof which allowed me to see Isaac was okay but covered in white insulation fuzz. The security guard guided him out of that room and said hurry! Isaac and I realized just how unsafe his apartment was as it began to creek and make sounds as though it was literally about to fall in. I hurried and grabbed some jeans and a backpack that I saw on the floor when suddenly their was another loud sound from the same room that fell in on Isaac. The rest of the roof fell in and a giant wave of water flew into the house flooding it. The security guard yelled out, “that is enough… let’s go!” I stretched and reached for two blankets from off the couch as we ran to exit the apartment.

After we met with Red Cross (they were great and fast), did reports and spoke to the apartment manager, the whole family came over to my house so that we could be somewhere away from the fire fiasco and think through a plan for the family. They were going to stay with us at least for the evening but their friends were looking for them and by the time we went back out to get some extra clothes and other needed items, the family just assumed it best to go back and stay with their refugee friends who were willing to help them with a place to stay. So now we have a refugee family who is struggling already trying to help their refugee single mom friends family of four who’s home was destroyed by fire. This family needs our prayers and support.

You need to know that Sakima has already previously lost one son in a house fire in Africa. She was very thankful that her sons and mother are okay but is extremely shaken up about the fire.

Here is how you can help!! Share this post! Talk to your church groups. We will be gathering items for the family to rebuild their life, yet again. They are homeless right now so we cannot take a bunch of items for them to try to store just yet, so let’s please hold back on too much “stuff” right now but if you know you have items the family could use and are willing to hold on to them for a minute, let us know, message us or email serve@ashasrefuge.org. The family is in serious need of money to secure either another rental home or a hotel for a while until they are able to get into another apartment that might be available at the location they are at so that the children can continue school easily. Their current apartment complex is full. The money will be used for things like their gas, clothing, additional toiletries, school items needed to be replaced, hotel, food, deposits for possible housing, future household items needed, money to replace medication, money to keep up with bills while Sakima has to take time off of work to help her children and elderly Mom, etc.

Asha’s Refuge has already purchased a few immediate needed items for the family. If you would like to donate to help Sakima’s family, please do so by clicking the “heart ♥️” logo at the bottom of our website page at http://www.ashasrefuge.org through PayPal and let us know your donation is to assist Sakima’s family. Donations made from today until April 15th will go towards helping Sekima Mwamini’s family unless the donor has stated otherwise. Donations made after this date will go into our Asha’s Refuge general funding to support our future refugee initiatives and needs. You may also write a check to Asha’s Refuge and mail to 1035 Winchester Blvd., Ste. A216, Collierville, TN 38017 with “Sakima Mwamini Family” written in the “For” line.

Here are the names and ages of the family:

Age 72 -Grandma AlAmina DOB 1/1/1942

Age 40 – Sakima -Born 1977

Age 17 – Isaac DOB 6-17-01

Age 7 – Salim – DOB 9-30-2011

Asha’s Refuge, Sakima’s family and friends wish to thank you all in advance for your help and sincere prayers.