WHO IS MAYA?

Maya came home from work one day to find her husband of almost 15 years just got up and left without telling her and took their son.

"I finish my work and come back and don't find him," she says recalling some of the abuse she went through. "He took the furniture and everything. He left just a mattress and some garbage on the floor and he go."

A few years ago, Maya's now ex-husband convinced her to move with him from Jordan to the United States where she had no friends and family. She had no support structure and her husband demanded that she work. And then, he started taking money from her.

"I would work 10 in the morning to 1 am at night," she said. "I would bring home $300 a week. He took all my money. At the time I didn't care because I said 'I am with you.' But then I realized something didn't feel right."

Her husband worked, but saved all his money while he forced Maya to pay all the bills. He constantly eviscerated her with things that don't need repeating. The list of abuse got longer and longer over the years until that blindsiding crescendo - the day she found out he had abandoned her and took their son with him.

"The first time I feel I am alone, what am I doing? What happened to me? I don't have papers, I am afraid," she said. "But when I make the first step forward, I realize I can make another one and then another one."

HOW IS SHE NOW?

Smile, a non-profit that works with uplifting families in the NYC/New Jersey area, helped get her back on her feet.  Alhamdulillah, she got her green card, filed for divorce, got her own place to live in and she is working.

"I am brave," she says as she raises her hands in the air with a laugh. "Back home in my country, I used to feel like I can't do anything. But here, I feel like I can do something and I want to do something. When I feel alone, I remember Allah is always with me. It's ok to be sad from time to time, but always have hope."

In a little over a year, she went from struggling to form sentences in English and not knowing the first thing about living on her own, to working full-time at a bakery, budgeting her money every week to handle all her bills and carrying this hour long conversation with me. She also learned how to drive and got her greencard along the way. Her job at the bakery is physically exhausting, so when she's not working she's studying to pursue a career as an Arabic translator.

WHY SEND HER TO HAJJ

Last year, you all helped us send a beloved blind chef on Hajj. We are still blown away from how you all stepped up and helped us raise thousands of dollars in a few hours to send him on the greatest spiritual journey of his lifetime. (He's doing well btw! He now runs his own chef catering business called 'Cooking Without Looking.')

This year, LET'S SEND MAYA!!!!! She thanks Allah every day for the strength she has in moving forward in her life. Let's give her the opportunity to visit Allah's house and thank Him directly.

We are trying to raise $14,000.  The Hajj trip (with Dar El Salam) will cost $10,000 and includes the Hajj fees. The remaining $4,000 will go towards Maya's bills and expenses she'll need to pay since she'll be taking time off work (rent, bills, etc) to take this trip. Each and every penny you give us is Zakat elgible and tax deductible. Any additional money we raise for this campaign will go towards supporting her in other ways (living expenses, English classes, etc.).

Your support is more than just sending this warrior of a woman to Hajj. It sends a message that we as our beloved Muslim community stand up for our women. Because the sad reality is, Maya's story is nowhere near an isolated incident.

Maya always talks about how God is always with her and that's what keeps her moving forward. In these last remaining days of Ramadan, let's come together and show her how we are always with her too.

Update: ALLAH AKBAR! We reached our target in less than 12 hours! We would like to still help Maya with her living expenses and working on being able to support her son. So any additional money raised from here on out will go towards that.Update: ALLAH AKBAR! We reached our target in less than 12 hours! We would like to still help Maya with her living expenses and working on being able to support her son. So any additional money raised from here on out will go towards that.