Meet James

James was 11 when he left Maryland, Liberia to stay with his aunt in a refugee camp in Cote d’Ivoire. He arrived in RI in November of 2019 along with his aunt, grandma, uncle and cousin. His parents are still in Liberia.

At first he thought Rhode Island was brutally cold. But the next day the resettlement agency dropped off a winter coat and the apartment heat was turned on. Phew!

James was really looking forward to school since schools in the camp were not good. Sadly, he missed the age cut off for high school so he’s studying for his G.E.D. He is taking a computer course, math and reading.

James had hoped to start working immediately, but then COVID-19 hit and there were no jobs. He had experience in construction and driving a taxi. James says that the work in the United States is different: not as much heavy lifting and he’d also never had to follow a schedule or come to work at a particular time.

James says that he likes soccer, dancing, video games and school. (We’ve seen him dance at work and he really does have potential.) His dream is to become a dentist.