With support from the IRC, Patrick Karera overcame a serious heart condition and a difficult childhood in a Rwandan refugee camp to become the first member of his family to graduate from high school.
SILVER SPRING, Md. - When Patrick Karera, a Congolese refugee, graduated from high school this spring, staff from the International Rescue Committee were there to cheer him on. Those who knew him when he arrived in the United States remember how ill he was. Indeed, there was a time when it was unclear whether he would live to see his next birthday. Today, he is a healthy, affectionate young man about to enroll at a community college, his long ordeal over and his new life ahead.