Cedar Rapids man may be on way home from Sudan

The Gazette

Apr. 24, 2023 5:41 pm, Updated: Apr. 25, 2023 7:40 am

Jacy Bunnell Ahmed (left) of Cedar Rapids is being interviewed by national media was she works to bring home her husband, Mohamed Ahmed (right), from Sudan. (Submitted) — Jacy Bunnell Ahmed (left) of Cedar Rapids is being interviewed by national media as she works to bring home her husband, Mohamed Ahmed (right), from Sudan. (Submitted)

This is the picture Mohamed Ahmed, 38, of Cedar Rapids, sent his wife at 4 a.m. Monday, as he waited to board a bus in Sudan that he and his wife are hoping will take him to Egypt. (GoFundMe)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mohamed Ahmed of Cedar Rapids may be on his way home from Sudan. Or possibly not.

Ahmed’s wife, Jacy Bunnell Ahmed of Cedar Rapids, said Monday she was able to get money to her husband for the bus trip, which was difficult to do because internet service in the country is spotty.

She said she last talked to her husband at 4 a.m. Monday, and “he could be on his way or maybe still waiting. I hope to hear soon.”

The daylong bus trip to the Egyptian border, which typically costs $250, now costs $2,000, as the demand to get out of the war-torn country has skyrocketed, she told NPR on Monday afternoon.

When — and if — Ahmed gets to the Egypt border, friends will drive him to the Cairo airport, where he hopes to catch a flight back to the United States.

On Monday, Jacy Ahmed set up a GoFundMe to help with the family’s additional expenses. It can be found at https://gf.me/v/c/5r8j/helping-mo-get-home. As of 5 p.m. Monday, $5,455 had been pledged toward a $7,000 goal.

Mohamed Ahmed, 38, had intended to fly home last Wednesday, but all flights were canceled at the Khartoum airport because of the fighting.

Ahmed moved to Cedar Rapids 13 years ago to attend Kirkwood Community College and became a U.S. citizen in 2016. He went to Sudan for his father’s funeral..

Jacy Ahmed is a former teacher in the Cedar Rapids school district and a former adjunct instructor at Kirkwood Community College. She was scheduled to be interviewed on CNN on Monday night.