Cultivating Community and Hope
Twenty Years in Refugee Camps Before Finding Home in Kansas City
My name is Mediatrice, it means to bring people together and to give counsel. I was born in Burundi, but when the war began my family went to Tanzania, and that’s where I grew up. I don’t know very much about Burundi because I never went back after we fled.
Because of the situation, my family was in refugee camps in Tanzania. It wasn’t very pleasant because we didn’t have anything. We barely had any food or water, and people kept telling us to go back to where we came from. What made things even more complicated is that I have seven siblings, so we were ten total when we were staying in the camps.
Growing up in our first refugee camp in Tanzania, it was typical for us to farm. We grew corn, beans, and cassava root. I didn’t really like farming growing up. The climate was very dry, far away, and it always felt very hot. Our refugee camp was very big, so it took us about thirty minutes to walk all the way to our garden plot. We all worked together on Saturdays, because on the other days of the week my siblings and I would go to school.
Later on, we had to switch camps four times because they kept closing - the local people didn’t want us there and would close the camps - and we had to start over again somewhere new.
I stayed in Tanzania for twenty years before coming to the United States when I was twenty-six. My husband’s family had been in refugee camps much longer than mine, and thanks to him we were able to come together to the US with our kids. One child I had in the camp in Tanzania, the other three were born here. My mom and two of my siblings are still in Tanzania, but the rest of my family went back to Burundi, including my dad. My mom will go to Burundi to join my dad soon but it’s not very safe for her there currently because of her political party.
When my family arrived in Kansas City, I was excited. I remember thinking there was so much English, everything in English. I spoke a little bit of English at the time and my husband spoke none at all. When we got here we were resettled by Catholic Charities, and it’s through them that I learned about the New Roots program. I was able to join the program and we lived right next to our garden. I loved our garden because I could make money and still take care of my kids. Before I was either working or sleeping and the kids were watching TV. Now they are nearby while I work. Some of my kids liked helping me in the garden but not all of them.
It has been ten years, and I graduated from the New Roots program almost three years ago. I grow all sorts of things on our land; lettuce mix, collared greens, eggplants, carrots, beets, and cabbage. I also grow amaranth which is what Americans call muchicha. I grow that and cassava leaves because our community likes those. Even though I graduated, I still have a garden. I also have another job because my goal is to buy a house and expand my garden.
Even though I didn’t really like farming when I was growing up in Tanzania, I really enjoy it now because it has become my job. It is the way I provide for my children. It’s also a way for me to share my culture. I get to talk to people about the crops I grow and sell and teach them a bit about the crops typically grown where I come from. This is another way I can gather people together, like my name denotes.
I am proud of my achievements here. My greatest achievements are my family and my community.
I love being part of my community and gathering people together by making food for them or teaching them about what I grow.
My hope is that everyone will come visit me at the market and buy my produce.
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