The War Was a Surprise
My name is Victorina. My home country is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In 1986 we were home - and the war was a surprise. We didn’t have a choice. We decided to go to another country – Tanzania.
I lived in Tanzania from 1996 until 2021.
Before the war I was working and happy. I didn't have it in my mind to say “okay, one day I will be out of my house or out of my homeland.” But like I said before, war was a surprise.
My father passed away in the DRC and my mother passed away in the refugee camp. My husband was with me in the camp. We didn’t have a chance to have children, we lived with my 5 step children – two girls and 3 boys.
Some of my children are in the U.S. and some are still in Tanzania. But, my husband passed away in the refugee camp.
I was an elementary school teacher in the DRC and I continued to teach the children in the refugee camp. I loved teaching and being with the children. My favorite subjects to teach were math, stories, and French.
I arrived here on December 1st, 2021. I was welcomed by some of my family members. My brother and a nephew. And now I am a student, learning English through the program here at RBG.
The biggest challenge coming here has been being in the house all the time. All the time you’re just inside the house. But that’s not the case back in my homeland. In my homeland you feel free, you are able to walk and to…to just be outside. But here it’s different, you’re just inside and hear about the weather.
There you cannot be in your house by yourself. You go back and forth. You share a story or anything but that’s not the case in America.
Festivals made it easier though, and I have made family here. Other members from our community are here, to chat so I feel okay. And we have a women’s group. Sometimes we do a meeting and we talk about where we came from. So all these things keep our culture and help it to continue.
We also cook. In our culture, we would cook fish and many kinds of beans. It’s not hard to find ingredients because there are many African stores.
It also makes me happy that here there are many, many opportunities to work. So when you are able, you can work and you can get money. You can do everything you want.
Right now, I do not have a job; I don’t have money because I am sick. I’m looking for someone who can help me. So the thing I share in the women’s group is advice - maybe.
The advice I would give a newcomer is first, you have to be patient because this is a new life, and when you begin a new life, there are many challenges. So you have to be patient.
But, Refugee Bowling Green helps a lot because first of all, I got transportation from my house to here. From here to my house. They are even able to get me to my eye doctor appointment. I have a chance to be in ESL classes, for free. So, thank you to Refuge Bowling Green for all of that.
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