Interview with Kikoko L. Godfrey, March 27, 2015

Interview Summary

Kikoko Godfrey describes his early childhood and primary school in a small village in Kivu Province of Congo. After his father, a carpenter, moved the family to the larger town of Kalamie in order to work for a Belgian company, Kikoko completed his secondary education and two years of medical training there. He tells about working in an American mission hospital for five years, and following that moving to Burundi for two years before conflict there forced him back to Congo. Because of war in Congo, he and his family went to Tanzania as refugees. They were repatriated to Congo and then the war again forced them to flee across Zambia all the way to Namibia where they spent sixteen years in a refugee camp. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) assisted their move to Lexington, Kentucky in 2013. Kikoko, whose family includes ten children, describes his enjoyment of freedom of movement and freedom of speech in the U.S., and his feeling of being welcomed to Lexington. He also appreciates the educational opportunities for his children and himself.

Interview Keyword

Namibia Refugee camps Refugees Tanzania Zambia

Interview LC Subject

Africa Congo (Democratic Republic) Immigrants--Kentucky Emigration and immigration

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.