This is Media, from the town of Bunagana, in the southeast corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1999, when she was just a girl of seven, she and her family were forced to flee their home due to the Congolese Civil War. Media grew up in the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in Uganda, about 300 miles from home. There, she learned to grow vegetables on her family’s small plot of land.
Ten years later, she met and married her husband, Sam. Together they hoped for a better life, either to return to the Congo, or to build their future in another country. In 2011, their son was born, and last year, their daughter. Then, in November, they learned they would be resettled. They arrived in the US in December.
Media tried granola for the first time this week, her first day on the job at the Providence Granola Project. She giggled as she agreed with her new Somali coworker that, “granola is very good.” And she loves her new job. She only wishes she could work more hours so she could earn more to support her family. You can see the strength and determination in her eyes.
Thank you for supporting Media as she learns critical job skills that will position her well for her first job in the US.
