Just Waiting for a Miracle
“Just waiting for miracles. That was pretty much my day,” Marceline Washikala reflects on her life growing up in a series of refugee camps.
Category: Congo
Birth Certificate, Goma, DRC
Johana Amani: I lost my birth certificate while fleeing for safety from my home country Congo, DRC. I never thought I would lose my sense of belonging
Say Goodbye to All Your Problems
It’s 2010 and Johana Amani is 10 years old. She is speeding through the Congo in the middle of the night on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle. She and […]
There Is a Hopeful Tomorrow
Things were going well for Jenny Munezero in Portland, Oregon. She was working in a rewarding career and engaged to a man she adored.
Turning Pain Into Ambition
Lisa Amani is a driven 18-year-old. This fall, she will start her first year at University of Oregon, with $130,000 worth of scholarships.
From Survival to Triumph
There are survivalists who stockpile food and weapons against what they see as the coming apocalypse. Then there are survivors, such as Amida Kyanza, born in
Finding His Footing on the Pitch
Wilondja Mashimango spent his childhood on the soccer field. One day on the pitch, he heard someone greet him and turned around to reply. However, what he
The Architect of Her Own Future
It was her birthday, an especially happy one because she got to see her mom. Johana Amani and her sister rarely saw their mother because
Be Whoever You Want to Be
Like her journey as a refugee, becoming who she is today has not been easy for Irakoze Diane. That is why “Irakoze” is not just a name — it is a […]
Something To Be Proud Of
Felix Songolo does not remember much of what he left behind in Africa. His family left the Democratic Republic of Congo before he was born
Counting on Math and Soccer
Mussa doesn’t remember much from the night his father was killed. From where he stood in his crib he could hear men’s voices in the room next door,
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
Jean Paul was three years old when his family decided to flee their fertile home land in North Kivu in Congo. The next seventeen years they