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...