Brenda and Becky

Ubrupt change occurs everyday. But not usually for me. However, last month I contacted the Agency for New Americans to find out how I could connect my 5th/6th grade class with the work they are doing for recently resettled refugees in Boise. Suddenly, two people have come into my life that feel like family.


This has been a project I've been working with this class on all year. First, I taught the class how a person becomes a refugee. What does that status mean? How is a refugee different from an illegal immigrant, someone displaced by natural disaster, economic migrant or environmental migrant?  In case you are not brushed up on the terms, the most important parts of the refugee definition are:

• Refugees have to be outside their country of origin
• The reasons for their flight has to be a fear of persecution
• The fear of persecution has to be well-founded
• The persecution has to result from one or more of the five grounds listed in the definition (race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion)
• They have to be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country

( From Refugees and Children in our World Lesson 4, www.unhcr.org)

Next, the class needed to connect with people in Boise who have been resettled here. Did you know that Idaho receives more refugees per capita than anywhere else in the United States?

Upon meeting with Yasmin Aguilar, the community coordinator at ANA, she immediately identified a perfect match for my class - Brenda and Becky, a congolese teen mom and her five year old daughter who was born in a refugee camp in Uganda. Brenda fled DR Congo when she was 12 and has not seen her parents or siblings since. She was 14 when she had Becky, and has spent every minute since working for their survival. They arrived to Boise at the very end of December 2012.

The hardships Brenda and Becky have faced are more difficult than I can comprehend. She tells me stories from her time in DR Congo and Uganda regularly, and each time I hear one I am amazed by this woman's resiliance. She has been through things that are unmentionable; and not just once or twice, the unmentionable was the norm. She is a testament to the goodness of the human spirit and an example of positivity and strength. She credits God.

In this blog I will attempt to document their new journey. As the author, I suppose much of the stories I share will also be my experiences with this treasured new friend. Let the adventure begin!