Meet Nicole
When Nicole Tshibangu first came to the United States, she felt lonely and isolated. Despite the ability of Kentucky Refugee Ministries to help with the physical needs of her family, she says, “there was a time when I wanted to go …
Stories
United We Sing: Musical Gifts in Louisville’s International Community
On the evening of Saturday, June 18, 29-year-old Osmany Chauvin Elias stood on stage under the lights of Bomhard Theater, accompanied by only pianist Harry Pickens. He played “You Don’t Know What Love Is” on his saxophone to a crowd of …
Friendship Beyond Borders: Volunteering with Refugees
At one of the first meetings between two couples, Louisville-based volunteers Kate Bulinski and Ned Berghausen and recently-arrived KRM clients Francine Djabaa and Godefroid Bomay, they bonded over wedding photos and stories. The two couples come from different backgrounds, separate continents. They …
Focus on Flavor: Helal Sousi, a refugee home cook from Syria
[Above photo: Helal Sousi, right, pictured with her husband Maher at a KRM staff member’s home for a food tasting. Photo by Pedro Santiago, 2016.] Helal Sousi started cooking 26 years ago when she was married to Maher. She had success …
Spotlight on Sound: Q & A with Abraham Mwinda
When did you start playing music? “I started writing music 7 years ago and taught myself guitar in 2013.” What inspires you to write? “I write about interactions with people, real stories, self-expression. Plus, I can’t help it, I have …
Focus on Flavor: A spotlight on a refugee home cook, Renuka Chettri, from Bhutan
“Cooking is my hobby. I could do it all day. For everything in cooking my teacher was my elder sister. She taught me everything. Even when I did not know how to cook, she appreciated me on the weekends, she …
Support Group Offers Space for Refugees to Heal and Thrive
Before arriving to the U.S., “It seems like heaven on earth,” says Pauline Mukeshimana. “The first three months or so, it still is heaven. Then, you start to live your own life here. The idea in your head is different …
One Family’s Reunion Story: From Burundi to Kentucky
Julienne came to the United States in 2007 by herself. Two days later, her parents and sisters arrived. They had fled conflict in their home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to claim refugee status in Burundi. Now, Julienne is …
Why and How, a special post by KRM client Eduardo Gonzales
I was born in 1986. Cuba was short of all kinds of supplies and the worst was yet to come. Each and every thing we consumed was acquired from the Soviet Union in exchange for some sugar, which, in a …
Ghilain Thrives at Kentucky School for the Deaf
When Ghilain Masudi arrived in Lexington in July with his family, all Congolese refugees who had been living in Burundi, he faced an extra hurdle to adjusting to life in the United States: he is deaf. With only some literacy …