Noella Tchekanabo, a Congolese refugee and mother of six, was determined to make the best life for her children. With the help of the IRC, she was recently resettled in the United States to rebuild the life she once dreamed of for her family.
by Emily Sernaker and Elizabeth Barrett
Noella Tchekanabo's husband was killed in 2009 in the violent conflict that was gripping the Democratic Republic of Congo. Noella fled with her children to the safety of Nakivale refugee camp in neighboring Uganda. As the fighting continued at home, she spent four years living in constant uncertainty of how her family would survive.
“We were not drinking clean water,” she recalled. “Sometimes the food was rotten. We didn’t have much money.”