Welcome to Weliyo World

I am from Somalia, and have been in the refugee camps (Dadaad) northeastern part of Kenya for 15 years. I am currently a student at San Antonio College working towards my four year degree (B.A.) at  University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas.

I have done a lot of struggling to finish my high school education. I was one of a small group of Somali Bantu kids privileged to attend junior high school. Later on, while I was still completing my high school, the Somali Bantu community submitted a petition /complaint letter to the U.S government forwarding their problems to U.S embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

After a long waiting process for resettlement, at the end of December 2001, my family and I went to the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) verification process in Dadaab Camp, for security reasons. My family and I relocated to Kakuma Camp and stayed there for two years. We were interviewed by the Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA) which is run by the Church World service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). When we passed the interviews, we were given medical examinations and orientation by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). After that time, we waited for eight months for the approval by IOM for resettlement in the United States. It was December 2004 when my family’s name was put on the bulletin board announcing that we would be going to Goal, Nairobi. We passed the final checks and interviews to determine our eligibility for resettlement, and then we were given plane tickets. We were told we would be going to Salt Lake City, Utah. We boarded the plane at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and flew to London and then on to New York before heading to Salt Lake City where we arrived on December 16, 2004.

When we arrived at Salt Lake International Airport, we were greeted by the International Rescue Committee (I.R.C.) staff who took us to our new apartment which they had furnished with beds, sofas, table, chairs and TV. There was some food in the refrigerator. They gave us vouchers to buy clothes, and cash to buy more food. IRC staff helped show us how to take care of the apartment, use the stove, take the bus, and buy groceries.

There were a lot of things to get used to in the United States that we did not have in Kenya like refrigerator, stove or furnaces. We knew about telephones and television but people did not have them in their own homes. I had not experienced elevators, escalators or fire extinguishers before and I was scared of them at first.
I was very grateful to find American people who were willing to help me. Laura Durrant was a volunteer from the I.R.C who helped my family and me a lot. She helped us get phone services and cable, and fill out job applications online which I did not have experience doing before. She also helped me open a checking and savings account and fill out my FAFSA so I could enroll in college. She still continues to help me everything I need. I got my first job at Granite School District as an ESL Aide, where I interpreted for Somali Bantu high school students who had limited English. When that job ended for the summer, I got a seasonal job at THE HOME DEPOT. When that job ended, I got another one at MERVYN’S which I quit when I got a job at WAL-MART (Super Center) which was much closer to my home .

I enrolled at Salt Lake Community College in August of 2005 to begin with my general education studies toward an Associate of Arts in Psychology. I got married in March 2006. After my Wedding in Salt Lake City, Utah, I got transferred to San Antonio College where I am currently working to earn my Associate Degree.

Today, I am a student at San Antonio College willing to achieve my goal. So now I think you know me better than before. I therefore appreciate your time in reading this long story and wish everyone good luck for their future endeavors.