As a little girl growing up in a refugee camp in Tanzania, Olive and her friends would walk almost an hour to school, often filling their empty stomachs with fruits they found in the forest along the way. After the family emigrated to the US, she continued her education and, as a college student, decided it was time to give back. She raised $17,000 to assist girls to remain in school and, with her father, returned to her old community in Burundi. Meeting one of the friends from those long-ago walks to school, now a young mother with several children but no chance to finish her schooling, made Olive realize even more how essential her mission was.
I Am My Story Live is a production of the award-winning nonprofit The Immigrant Story. The stories were presented live on stage at Alex L. Parks Performing Arts Center, Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon, on Saturday, September 11, 2021. With a focus on powerful voices of survival and soothing musical accompaniment, I Am My Story Live provided a space for storytelling, cultural exchange and empathy.
Organized as a part of Beaverton’s Welcoming Week, with generous support from the City of Beaverton, the program focused on remarkable, first-person tales of courage and fortitude.
Major funding for I Am My Story Live is provided by the generous contribution of the presenting sponsor Zidell Family Foundation.