Trainees

Nooria grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, where she was able to complete 9th grade before her family moved to Pune, India. Since she wasn’t an Indian citizen, she couldn’t continue in high school. Nevertheless, her passion for learning led her to English and cosmetology classes. She e arned certifications as an esthetician and nail technician. As a self-described “fashionista” and social butterfly, friends would often come to her house to ask for advice on makeup, clothes, and skin products before attending parties and weddings. After 7 years in India, Nooria heard that she would be moving to the...

This winter session we were joined by Karima along with three of her children. Originally from Kabul, Afghanistan, Karima lived in Turkey for seven years before being resettled in Rhode Island at the end of last year. Karima used to work as a tailor while her kids attended school and participated in soccer and art classes for extracurricular activities. Her two older children were enrolled at a university in Turkey studying computer coding. Karima told us a bit about the uncertainty she had to live with in Turkey as a single mother. She also spoke of feeling isolated and overwhelmed...

Mmbanga was born in Fizi, a village in DRCongo near Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest freshwater lake. Her family were farmers, growing corn, cassava, potatoes, and peanuts. Farming the rocky, mountainous soil was backbreaking work. As a child she remembers playing a fun game tossing stones into the air and grabbing others before the first ones hit the ground. But mostly life was hard. When she was 30, Mmbanga fled Fizi to escape civil war. She traveled by boat down Lake Tanganyika to Tanzania where she settled in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp. She remained there 24 years, raising five children....

Philemon was born in DR Congo in 2001 and learned Swahili as his primary language. When he was 12, he moved to a refugee camp in Tanzania with his family. As the youngest of 9 siblings, he was able to attend both elementary and secondary school.  At 15, he started his first job as a motorcycle taxi driver. During this time, he learned a lot about the mechanics of motorcycles and how to fix them. He clearly loves machines and mechanics of all sorts, including things like our packing and sealing equipment. Philemon and his family arrived in Tallahassee, Florida...

Sedeqi was born in Laghman Province in Afghanistan. His father was the principal of the local school, so education was naturally very important. The family moved to Kabul when Sedeqi was still young. This meant a better school system and more opportunities. Upon graduation from high school he went on to military university. He worked in media and administration, and eventually in operations, with responsibility to protect an airfield at an American Army base in Helmand Province. While Sedeqi is still learning basic English, he often gestures with one hand over his heart in a way that communicates a profound...

A happy welcome back to Laurent, who began training with BD several years ago but then fell ill and had to leave. He is back on his feet now, determined to find work. When he was 10, Laurent’s father was appointed a judge in North Kivu, DRCongo. The armed rebels in that area who preyed on villages for food and medicine resisted that authority, so Laurent’s childhood involved a cycle of fleeing and then returning home. When he was 18, Laurent moved to Ituri to become an artisan gold miner (i.e., not employed by a mining company). He married at...