The Story of Our Journey from Burundi to the USA
By Wilermine Mwakamupya (Student at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, NC)
My name is Wilermine Mwakamupya, and I’m 16 years old. I go to Sanderson High School, and I’m a junior. I live with my parents and seven siblings, so there are nine people in our house. We arrived in the United States in January 2019, leaving behind our home country of Burundi, a small nation in East Africa. Before coming here, we lived in a refugee camp for 10 years, which was very difficult. My parents, Mwakamupya Shisho and Beatrice, always wanted us to get an education and have a better life, as life in Burundi was very challenging. Many people in our country struggled to find enough food and a safe place to sleep, and refugees in the camp faced even more challenges. Immigrant groups brought food to the camp every month, but the amount was not enough for many families because most had many children, so the food would run out quickly. My dad worked as a carpenter when we were in Burundi, and my mom had a small business selling fruits around the camp. She was very hardworking—she would trade fruits for food like fufu flour or beans, then sell those foods at the market to earn money to buy more fruits and continue her business. She did this every day to help our family survive and live as normally as possible, even though life was very tough. While living in the camp, my siblings and I were able to go to school, which gave us hope for the future. We also had a small farm where we planted avocados and African vegetables. When the crops grew, my dad would sell them to make some money to help support the family. Despite all the difficulties and hardships, my parents worked hard to provide for us and keep us safe. Leaving Burundi and coming to the United States was a big change for us, but my family has always believed that education and a better life are worth all the struggles.
How did we get to the United States?
Essentially, we were able to arrive here through the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), an organization that provides refugees with immediate life-saving assistance, including food, shelter, and medical care. They also work to protect refugees’ rights and help them find a safe place to rebuild their lives. Through this organization, our case was referred to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which handled the rest of the process. It was not easy—we had to go through many steps, including detailed interviews, security screenings, medical checks, vaccinations, and receiving necessary shots and medicine. My family and I did not get to choose the state where we would live. After our case was accepted, a U.S. agency helped us. They chose the state and city for us. They looked to see if we had family or friends there, if there were jobs and homes, and if there was help to settle in. They wanted to put us where we could start a good new life.
After the country and state said it was okay for me and my family to come to the United States, the next step was to get ready for the trip. We had to do medical exams and get shots to make sure we were healthy. Then, the International Organization for Migration helped us with travel plans, like booking our flights and making sure we knew what to do. Once everything was ready, we finally set out for the United States. A resettlement agency met us at the airport and helped us start our new life here.
We arrived in North Carolina in 2019 and began our new life there. We’ve been living here for about six and a half years now. However, the apartments in Raleigh are not very good. The house is infested with mold, rats, and cockroaches. We’ve reported the problems to the apartment owners, and sometimes they send people to fix things like the bathrooms and sinks, but the issues keep recurring.
Only one person in my family works, and that’s my mom. My dad doesn’t work because he has health problems. When we first came to the United States, he worked for three years at Pilgrim Pride Poultry Plant in Sanford, NC, but then he had to stop due to health issues. So, to keep paying the bills, my mom had to work. Her first job was okay, but it was challenging for her to commute to. She worked with a friend, and they used to take the bus together. I don’t remember exactly what time she left or got back home, but it was really tough for her.
We had accumulated bills, and since she was the only one working, it was really hard. She ended up quitting that job because the tasks were too challenging. After that, she started looking for a new job and found one at Cards—I think that’s the name. But things were not easy there either. After about a year, she quit and looked for another job. It wasn’t easy, but she prayed and finally found a new job. She stayed there for a year, but things didn’t go well, so she quit again and looked for a new one.
Now, she has a different job, but getting to work is hard because transportation is difficult.
Why did my parents leave Congo?
My dad left Congo because of the war, and when he ran away with his siblings, they got separated. Some of his brothers and sisters have passed away, and he doesn’t know where the others are, and both of his parents have also died. My mom was born in Burundi, and after her mother passed away, life became very hard for her. She left her dad and siblings to seek a better life and began working as a maid. When she was 17, she met my dad, and they fell in love, later having me. Growing up was not easy for them because I had health problems as a baby and could not drink my mom’s milk, so I had to drink cow’s milk to survive and grow.
I remember when I was about six years old in Africa, one of our neighbors found out that we were close to moving to the United States, and out of jealousy, she poisoned three of my siblings at the same time. That was one of the hardest times for me and my parents because we had to find a way to save them. Early in the morning, as I was going to primary school with my little sister, I noticed that something was different about her. I quickly ran to tell my dad that something was wrong, and when he came, my sister fainted. We rushed her to the hospital, and the doctors said she couldn’t breathe and was also in shock. My mom thought she was going to die, so we began to pray. After about two hours, a doctor came and told us that she was going to be okay. We were happy.
After one week, my little brother started getting very skinny, and my mom noticed that something was wrong with him. She began looking for medicine to help him, and after some time, she finally found it and gave it to him. He started feeling better after taking the medicine. Later, we discovered that my other little brother had also been poisoned, so my mom gave him the same treatment, and he recovered too. About a month later, our neighbor killed the baby ducks that we had, and this made my dad very sad.
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