Fourteen Years and a Stolen Car

Yusuf has lived in Australia for fourteen years. He watched suburbs change, watched his son grow, and watched the years pass without knowing if he would ever be allowed to stay for good.

He arrived as a young man and has been on a bridging visa ever since. The process has dragged on longer than he ever thought possible. No decision. No certainty. And for all that time, no Centrelink support. He has worked where he could and survived where he could not.

Then, in the space of a few months, everything came apart at once.

His marriage ended. His wife left and took most of the money and the furniture with her. She has since moved on. Their son, who is nine years old, lives with Yusuf full time. His former wife was not willing to take him.

Yusuf does not say much about the separation. What he says is this: "I am raising and caring for my child alone. Every day I take him to school and pick him up. It is very difficult for me to work full time."

He is right. Without family nearby, the choice is brutal. Work and leave his son unattended. Or stay and watch the bills mount. For months he chose his son.

Then, during Ramadan, his car was stolen. He had no insurance. He could not afford it. Without a vehicle, the gap between him and steady income widened further. He began renting a car just to manage school runs and basic errands. The costs piled onto an already impossible load.

He fell behind on rent. His landlord took what remained of the bond. He had nothing left.

Yusuf applied to National Zakat Foundation Australia, and caseworkers began working through his situation carefully. He has a sister in another city who has offered to look after his son during work hours if Yusuf can relocate. This would let him work full time for the first time in years. A property close to her home has been found, at $590 per week. The application is in a family member's name because Yusuf cannot show the rental history an agent would expect.

Everything is still precarious. But there is a plan. And for the first time in a long time, there is one.

His case spans multiple needs: bond assistance, moving costs, and current rent arrears. NZF caseworkers are working through what can be covered to help him move, work, and rebuild.

Fourteen years of quietly keeping his head down in this country. A son who needs him present. A community, his own, that had no idea.

Your Zakat, Yusuf's Right