Jessica Perry George
Jessica Perry George, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A
I decided to write emails to my family and friends asking them to contribute what they could as many of them knew that I worked as a volunteer within the Somali Bantu refugee community in Baltimore for several years.
I am constantly touched by the resilience, optimism and spirit of the Somalis I have met, most of whom spent the majority of their lives in refugee camps only to come to the U.S. and struggle to make ends meet. When mentoring a newly arrived family, I met Habibo, a single mother of three, who spent 15 of her 28 years living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.
When she arrived in the US, 7 years after she applied for resettlement, she spent a night sleeping under a highway overpass with her three children because she took the wrong bus route to get to the resettlement center in Baltimore. Habibo, who had never had a job before, began working 40 hours a week in a factory packaging frozen chicken, so that she could support her family.
Despite all of these challenges, every week when I would spend time with them, Habibo and her children laughed and smiled and lifted MY spirits. They reminded me of the importance of family and health. They know they are among the fortunate few Somalis who make it to another country, where they can live their lives and make plans for the future, instead of being confined to a refugee camp where they are dependent on aid organizations for food and shelter.
Even in the refugee diaspora, some are more fortunate than others. Many Somalis continue to be displaced and live in informal settlements and refugee camps, in makeshift shelters built from sticks and rags.
Together with my friends and family, we have raised more than enough money to give shelter to a displaced Somali family!
Working as a volunteer in the Somali Bantu refugee community in Baltimore, I am constantly touched by the resilience, optimism and spirit of the Somalis I have met, most of whom spent the majority of their lives in refugee camps. When mentoring newly arrived families, I met Habibo, a single mother of three, who spent 15 of her 28 years living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. This is a photo of me with Habibo’s daughter Habso. |
