$80 for “Y” - he is an award-winning poet from Egypt with a BA in law. He is secular, and his wife is from a Coptic community, and because their marriage is illegal – and they did not have their baby officially designated as Muslim upon birth – they face deadly persecution, legal discrimination, and complete rejection from both their families. They had to flee Egypt, becoming hunted refugees in Jordan. They are without papers and regularly evicted from whatever shelter they can find. Y has been making money as a day laborer -- when he can get work. (Y’s full name is not used for sake of protection; their situation is still precarious)
Fortunately, Y and his wife and daughter are going to Claremont! Pitzer College, via Humanist Global CHarity’s Executive Director Phil Zuckerman - is granting Y a 12-month Visiting Poet in Residency at Pitzer College. Phil will provide basic housing for them, and Y will use Phil’s office at Pitzer for the duration of his stay.
The funds are for beds, bedding, pillows, pots and pans, cups and plates, utensils, clothes, towels, bikes, a burley, cell phones, TV. Toys.