Stage 3
Anna: Upon finding out that we were coming to America, I was so happy that our dreams were finally about to come true. My sister's dream was going to come true and there were no words to describe how happy I was and how happy we all were to be able to come here and live like other people and just have a normal life.
I have so many people to thank, starting from the UNHCR who supported us how they could with shelter and food, the IOM (International Organization for Migration) that handles the travel needs.
Life as a refugee, whether you are in the camp or outside, involves limited access to medical care, and a lot of people live with bad hygiene and bad health. Refugees don't get the checkups they want or need when they're in the process of being resettled. Often you are getting free medical care for the first time. You’re able to get checked out and any illnesses you may have get treated and we’re very thankful for that.
Then coming here makes us grateful to the government and the agency that works with them — World Relief.
Life in America is definitely not easy. It requires you to be tough, to be a quick learner and adapt very quickly. You have to be the right type of person to come and succeed here. One of the biggest challenges is language. Tanzania does not teach English to their refugees like Rwanda or Kenya or Uganda. However, having the right to work here is a blessing. We still have family members starving in our country, and being able to send some money to them is amazing.
I don't remember all the paperwork we had to get done. It is a lot. You don’t even understand why or how it is being done. We had World Relief assisting us with all of that, and we feel grateful that we did not have to deal with that because it is overwhelming.
We are doing the best we can with the little we understand of the country, but this is a part of the process, and we came here to improve our lives and help our family members who still live in refugee camps.
