Zahirah’s home is quiet. Too quiet for a mother of four.

At 45, Zahirah is the mother of children aged 10, 15, 16, and 17. But since May 2024, her house has been emptied of the everyday joys and chaos of family life.

Due to safety concerns related to family violence, her children were placed in a Home. It’s been nearly a year since then, and every day since has been a fight to bring them home.

Only One Hour a Week with Her Children

Zahirah gets to see her children for just one hour every Friday. It’s the hour she lives for, and the hardest one to walk away from. She watches them drag their feet as they return to the Home. 

“It’s never enough to meet them for one hour,” she says. Her youngest son, especially, has a special place in her heart. “He always knows how to melt my heart.”

Though circumstances have kept them apart, Zahirah remains hopeful and determined, holding on to the deep longing to be a mother to her children once more.

A Path Toward Reunification

Zahirah has since started over alone, in a new flat, with aspirations to build a new home and life with her children. She has secured furniture through donations and spent countless hours looking out for suitable work. Due to a slipped disc that deters her from walking or standing for long hours, her options are limited. With no sustainable income, her chances for reunification with her children are bleak.

What she needs now is a way forward.

To regain control of her life and reunite her family, she is determined to earn a Class 3/3A driving licence.

With this, she can take on jobs like private hire or delivery driving. These roles are flexible and manageable with her condition, and lets her spend more time with her children.

“I am very determined to get a licence… I don’t want to wait any longer. I want to have my children back in my arms and live normally as a whole family.”

How You Can Help

Ray of Hope is raising $3,817.27 to help Zahirah enrol in and complete her driving licence course. Here’s the breakdown:

– Enrolment & associated fees: $115.87

– Theory lessons: $82.84

– Basic & Final Theory Tests (2 tries each): $26.00

– 30 Practical Lessons + related fees: $2,536.65

– Practical Tests (3 tries): $980.91

– Provisional & official Driving Licence card: $75.00

Any unused funds will go towards supporting Zahirah’s employment journey—such as meal allowances or vehicle rental fees during job-seeking.

“This is my responsibility—as their mother”

“I don’t want to wait any longer,” Zahirah shares. “If I don’t have this, I don’t know when I can have my children back in my arms.”

Her voice is heavy with grief, but also resolve. “I have to have a stepping stone to start… to help myself, to progress positively towards the correct direction.”

Zahirah knows that stable employment is more than just an income. It’s her chance to prove she’s ready to rebuild a safe and loving home.

She’s not asking for much. Just the tools to take one step closer to her children.