Tag: Congolese in America

Asylum

A Congolese banker embraces care-giving in New Hampshire

By Gloria B. Anderson and Julie Zimmer | manchesterinklink.com

Mentoring developmentally disabled youth in New Hampshire may not seem like a logical career step for a former bank manager from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But for Bienfait, a Congolese immigrant – he declines to use his last name for reasons of personal safety — the job is highly satisfying. 

Now residing in Manchester, Bienfait, an applicant for asylum, considers himself blessed to have a job with Sevita, formerly known as the Mentor Network, a nationwide company that provides services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

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News

Patrick Lyoya escaped violence and persecution in Congo only to die in Michigan

By Niraj Warikoo | Detroit Free Press

When the Lyoya family arrived in the U.S. in 2014 after facing years of war and persecution in Africa, the refugees thought they had finally made it.

They had escaped earlier from conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and were living in Malawi when they won asylum to live in the U.S., part of a growing number of refugees from Congo in Michigan.

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Business, News

Dikembe Mutombo looks to expand Spire’s global reach

By JOE SCALZO | CRAINS

When Dikembe Mutombo was growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), basketball courts were about as common as ski lodges.

The closest basketball court to his house was 90 minutes away… by bus.

“I tell my kids, ‘You’re lucky. You wake up and walk to school five minutes away and there are 10 basketball courts on campus,’” said Mutombo, an 18-year NBA veteran and a member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Inducted fame in 2015.

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News

Congolese community mourning the loss of Nzengeli Mfwamba

By Marley Capper | WCIA

URBANA, Ill.- The Congolese community of Champaign County is mourning the loss of a loved family member and friend. His name is Nzengeli Mfwamba. Authorities believe he was stabbed to death by his daughter’s boyfriend, 23-year-old Dominic Fortune.

The stabbing occurred at Peppermill Lane and Brookfield Drive just after midnight. His family said that Mfwamba was getting off work.

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Health, News

Making healthcare more accessible for Cleveland’s Congolese community

Story and Photos by Michael Indriolo | The Land

Snow fell outside last Saturday, but the mood was warmer inside the Amour du Christ Church on Clark Avenue where a few of Cleveland’s Congolese refugees braved the cold for a health clinic put on by IKON Health Foundation and The Refugee Response’s Community Advisory Board. 

This health clinic, like its predecessor at Cleveland’s Somali Community Center in February, was designed to make basic health services more accessible for local refugee populations who face language, cultural and logistical barriers to getting healthcare they need.

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Communities

Galls’ English classes give Congolese refugees confidence on the job

By Evelyn Schultz | Lex18

Inside a conference room sit 12 employees who collectively speak many languages fluently, including French, Lingala, Swahili, and Portuguese.

Now, they’re adding English to that list through new language classes offered as a partnership with Bluegrass Community and Technical College. The classes, which started in February, run for an hour each week until May, and are funded through a grant from the Kentucky Workforce Development Agency.

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Communities, Religion

African Catholics in NYC find community at French Mass

By KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU | Associated Press  

When Landry Felix Uwamungu Ganza moved to New York from Rwanda last August, the Columbia University freshman searched for sanctuary, a sacred place to carry out his Sunday morning rituals just as he had back home.

He ventured into the nearest Catholic parish, the Church of Notre Dame in his new city’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, and to his surprise, he found the familiar rhythms of Mass being celebrated in French — a language he grew up hearing from the pulpit.

Continue reading “African Catholics in NYC find community at French Mass” →
Communities

Africa in the spotlight | Afrohouse is connecting platform for Africans in Springfield, Illinois

By Tiffani Jackson | State Journal-Register

When Olric Manthelot moved to Springfield in 2015, he was a victim of cultural stereotypes. As an African who immigrated from Congo-Brazzaville he said the language barrier and stigmas motivated ignorant assumptions about his people.

Continue reading “Africa in the spotlight | Afrohouse is connecting platform for Africans in Springfield, Illinois” →
Uncategorized

Fanta Bah—from top of the class in Africa to business asset in America

by M’NIYAH LYNN | Amsterdam News

Fanta Bah is an international student that currently attends Baruch College. While at LaGuardia Community College, she was among one the first students to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Fellows program. It is her curiosity and ambition that allowed her to make the most out of her experience working with Ajoy Management Enterprise, a Harlem-based financial management firm. Bah used the fundamental skills she gained at the internship to become an asset to the firm and to wherever she wants to work in the future.

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Sports

5 best African NBA players right now

By Business Insider Africa

Africa has always had a good relationship with the NBA. We’ve seen some great players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo that had a huge impact on the game. Nowadays, there are plenty of African players that are playing in the NBA, and in today’s article, we will highlight some of the best.

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American Odessey

James Magot| Lancaster City man commemorates 20th anniversary arriving in America from Sudan with children’s book about multi-cultural identity

By Jermaine Rowley | fox43

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — An active leader in Lancaster refugee communities is taking a creative approach to inform children and their parents about multi-cultural identity. James Magot, 40, a former South-Sudanese “Lost Boy” refugee is developing his first children’s storybook with the help of illustrator Tess Feiler and a few other local collaborators in honor of his 20th anniversary of arriving in America.

Continue reading “James Magot| Lancaster City man commemorates 20th anniversary arriving in America from Sudan with children’s book about multi-cultural identity” →
Uncategorized

Congo rejoins United States’ AGOA trade partnership

By Stanis Bujakera  and Hereward Holland  | Reuters

Democratic Republic of Congo has rejoined a trade partnership giving it duty-free access to U.S. markets, a sign of warming diplomatic ties since Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi came to power last year.

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People

Jacques Vambel Ilanga | From Congo to Camas to college

By Meg Wochnick | The Columbian

This is how many know Jacques Badolato-Birdsell: a Camas High School standout in football, wrestling and track and field who set two single-season school records in 2019 playing running back in the Papermakers’ undefeated football season. Who can forget the last football game he played? Last December’s Class 4A state championship win over Bothell — rushing for 207 yards and scoring three touchdowns — still brings a smile to his face in a memory-filled season.

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Politics

Congolese among New Americans who praise Trump at Nashua event

By Andrew Sylvia | Manchester Ink Link

NASHUA, N.H. – Donald Trump is well known for his policies aimed at limiting immigration. But in spite of this, he still has a  group of supporters who have migrated to this country who gathered in Nashua last week for an event highlighting the Trump campaign’s diversity.

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Sports

3 brothers from Congo hope to bring Butler Soccer a region title

By Tyler Greever | whas11

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Butler boys soccer head coach Mario Carrillo estimates he’s coached players from about 15 different countries. The Air Force veteran said his current Bears roster, which is chasing a fourth region title in five years, is made up of about 85% of players with international backgrounds. And they all share a common thread.

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Immigration

Cameroonian asylum seekers fear deportation means death – Los Angeles Times

By KATE MORRISSEY | The Los Angeles Times

Asylum seekers from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo are raising the alarm that U.S. immigration officials plan to deport them on a chartered flight as soon as Tuesday morning to countries where they believe they will be immediately arrested and killed.

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Immigration

Stories of Welcome: Congolese refugees are embraced by their new community in Boise, Idaho

By International Rescue Committee

Jacqueline Uwumeremyi fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa because of violence. After facing constant xenophobia because of her refugee status, she and her five children were finally resettled in Boise, Idaho, in 2018.

Continue reading “Stories of Welcome: Congolese refugees are embraced by their new community in Boise, Idaho” →
People

Mwadi Mabika | How the Olympics changed the life of Congolese legend

By FIBA.

 NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo already knew who Mwadi Mabika was from his regular trips to their native Democratic Republic of Congo, but what the then Atlanta Hawks star didn’t know was how great she would become down the line. And although Mabika achieved huge success with the Los Angeles Sparks, fate dictated that the city of Atlanta would play a significant part in the two-time WNBA champion’s life.

Continue reading “Mwadi Mabika | How the Olympics changed the life of Congolese legend” →
Business

Nespresso reinvigorates Congolese coffee economy with new organic offering

 by Benjamin Ferrer | Food Ingredients First

Nespresso’s first organic coffee within its philanthropic Reviving Origins range has hit the US market. Kahawa ya Congo is sourced from rain-rich volcanic soils along the shore of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The coffee giant aims to provide improved access to clean water and health services to growers of the crop, while also helping guide farmers through sustainable practices.

Continue reading “Nespresso reinvigorates Congolese coffee economy with new organic offering” →
Sports

Serge Ibaka demands respect for Black lives around the world

Serge Ibaka is a power forward for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He was born in Congo Brazaville and is a member of the NBA winning Toronto Raptors team of 2019. In this article he talks on his views on the treatment of immigrants and the Black Lives Matter Movement.

By Aaron Rose | Sports Illustrated

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Movies, Opinion

In support of “Heart of Africa”

 BY DAN PETERSON | Patheos

I was heartbroken at what happened to the Latter-day Saint film Heart of Africa upon its debut on 13 March 2020.  That was the very day — Friday the thirteenth, no less — on which BYU classes were canceled for the first time because of the surging coronavirus pandemic.  (I remember the date very well, obviously, because it affected me directly and personally.) 

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Opinion

To the Kids Back Home in Congo

BY JONATHAN KUMINGA | The Player Tribune

To All the Kids Back Home in Congo,

Even though I’ve been in the States for five years, Congo is never far from my mind and it’s always in my heart. It’s actually really difficult for me to put my feelings about home into words. But I did have to study my butt off for years to get my English on point, so I’m at least gonna try.

Continue reading “To the Kids Back Home in Congo” →
Immigration

From Angola to America: Ana’s Journey From Nothing to Nowhere

By Pedro Cardoso | Elephant

On 18 April, for fear of creating hotbeds of COVID 19 contagion, a Mexico City judge ordered the release of migrants from sixty-five overcrowded immigration centres in the country. By the end of that month, with both the northern and southern border lines under lockdown, the Mexican National Migration Institute (INM) estimated that over twenty thousand migrants were now stranded around border lines; under the lockdown, even appointments to identify refugees are suspended. Among those now either living in makeshift camps or left to their own devices in the country are an estimated four thousand Africans.

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Achievements

Lisa Amani: The congolese refugee high school graduate who values education after fleeing unrest in Africa

by Wesleigh Ogle | KATU

It’s hard to believe Lisa Amani, a Congolese refugee, is only a high school senior. The Roosevelt High School student has been through so much in 18 years to reach her 2020 graduation.

Continue reading “Lisa Amani: The congolese refugee high school graduate who values education after fleeing unrest in Africa” →
Uncategorized

Worker From Congo Dies After COVID-19 Outbreak at Iowa Plant

By Associated Press

An immigrant from Congo who worked at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Waterloo has died of the coronavirus, the company confirmed. The Congolese community in Waterloo has been mourning the death of Axel Kabeya, which several members announced on social media.

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Arts

Congolese refugee launches American art career with help from Refugee Assistance Partners of N.J.

By Brenna Holland | For NJ Advance Media

When Muyambo Marcel Chishimba was referred to the Refugee Assistance Partners of New Jersey (RAP), he expected to be helped in his effort to navigate the government, housing and school systems in his new home of Elizabeth. What Chishimba did not expect was that RAP would be the organization to help jump start his career as an artist in the United States.

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Movies

Congolese Director, Tshopher Kabambi’s dream realised with release of ‘Heart of Africa’

As a young man born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshopher Kabambi dreamed of making movies. He is the director of “Heart of Africa”, the first Congolese-American production of its kind with a story that conveys Christian themes of brotherly love and overcoming prejudice.

By Trent Toone  

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People

Evodie Tshipamba Receives Outstanding Black Student Award

by: Emma Fleming

Evodie Tshipamba is a recipient of Parkland’s Outstanding Black Student Award. Tshipamba, an electrical engineering major, was recognized by faculty and staff as an outstanding black student for her academic excellence and involvement in the community. She is one of seven students selected for this award. Tshipamba hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, where she says sense of community is a bit different than it is in the U.S.

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Immigration

This Family Survived an African Refugee Camp. Their New Challenge: Surviving Houston Without a Car. 

One of the Bayou City’s biggest immigrant gateways, southwest Houston, is a dangerous and daunting place for pedestrians.

BY PETER HOLLEY

Until January, Merci Madilu and his older brother, Espoir, had spent most of their existence in a refugee camp in the landlocked Central African nation of Burundi, where they shared a one-room, mud-walled shelter with their mother and eight younger siblings. 

Continue reading “This Family Survived an African Refugee Camp. Their New Challenge: Surviving Houston Without a Car. “ →
Communities

International Rescue Committee working to transition refugees coming to the Capital City

By Sophia Hernandez 

Think about this: You are 14 or 15-years-old. You are moving to a new country, don’t know the language, the customs or culture of where you now live.

That’s where the International Rescue Committee in Tallahassee comes in to help.

In February, the group created it’s first literacy program. Now, 44 Congolese students and counting from grades 6 to 12, are not only learning English, but also ways to transition into American society.

Continue reading “International Rescue Committee working to transition refugees coming to the Capital City” →