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Birth
Ms.Sandra was born in the year 1994 or 19965 in South Kivu, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is apart of the Banyamulenge tribe. -
Fled Uvira Into Burundi (Or Somewhere Near)
When Ms.Sandra had just returned home from school, she found that her family were packing all their belongings into a minivan. They left their little house in Uvira and fled away from the war that was bound to come, stopping at a checkpoint near the border of Burundi. Unfortunately, they were assaulted by a crowd of people and got many things stolen from them. Luckily, a good Samaritan helped them out of that sticky situation and they found U.N. camp to reside in. (Date estimated) -
Losing Deborah
It was a quiet, Ms.Sandra couldn't couldn't get to sleep. Then noises like popcorn popping, rang throughout the camp. The woman in her tent began to panic, Sandra, her mom and her little sister, Deborah hid underneath a mattress. MEn came into the tent, claiming that God has given them to them. -
Applied for Immigration
Ms.Sandra's dad had found out that the U.N. was accepting applicants fro people to immigrate tot eh United State. Wanting his family to be away from war and to have a shot at a better life he applied and went to two interviews on his own before his family joined him. (Date estimated0 -
Immigrated to the United States
After a year and a half of being questioned and interviewed, they finally got accepted to immigrate. They could leave their old lives behind, no more needing to run every year ago from he oncoming ar. Of course it would be confusing at first, terrifying fro them, but int he end they were finally somewhere safe. -
Attended 'Our Lady of Mercy' School
The previous school grade wasn't a good time for Ms.Sandra, the students were rowdy and disrespectful and they made fun of her all the time. Luckily one of her teachers helped her get a scholarship o "our Lady of Mercy" school fro eighth grade. There, she made life-long best friends and the school was quite nice as well. The students seemed nicer, albeit naive. -
Reconnecting with Other Survivors
After a few months, more survivors were sent over and they decided to meet up and connect to share their stories. They met in August, the month the tragedy happened in St. Louis Missouri. It was relieving to see the people who survived but also saddening, because of all the people who had died that night. (Date estimated) -
First Speech
This was the first time Ms.Sandra spoke her story to people. She was in a choir that travelled the country, singing and speaking about their stories. One night, in Pennsylvania, her sister Princesse, the main spokesperson, wasn't't feeling well. Since Sandra was the next most fluent, she had to go on stage ad tell her tory. It was exhausting, but Sandra had a realization. people cared, they anted to know her story, they wanted to know how they could help. (Date estimated) -
Created an Exhibit
This changed Sandra's life as it helped open new doors in her life. People would start noticing her and wanted her to tell her story, they wanted to help and know more about the experiences she went through. -
American Citizenship
This was a big moment for her and all her family, since she had never been considered a citizen anywhere before. It was thrilling for Ms. Sandra to think that she could have a place she would belong and have to right to vote to change her country. (Date estimated) -
Going Back to a Refugee Camp
The summer after Ms.Sandra graduated from high school, her sister Princesse planned to get married and she decided the wedding would be held in Rwanda. She was excited because it would be the first time she would be back in Congo since she immigrated. She began to think about visiting a refugee camp, to help out and see what was happening. Her sisters and her visited one and Sandra got to see what had happened and if there were any changes. (Date estimated) -
Attended Mercy College
This was a very special moment for Ms.Sandra because back in Congo, women never got more than -5 years of education.Sandra wanted to further her education and improve herself an by going to college, she could.
