Interview with Tite Niyonizigiye, April 12, 2017
Project: African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Tite Niyonizigiye describes his life in African countries, first his birth in Burundi, and then, after the war in 1972 drove his family to become refugees, living over a period of 35 years in Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and finally Tanzania. He discusses how he was able to gain an education with the assistance of UNHCR and various NGOs, eventually teaching and becoming a principal of a 1700 student secondary school in a Tanzania refugee camp before coming to the U.S. in 2007. He speaks about his vision of the U.S. as a "small paradise" and his great shock to find homeless people and also to realize he needed to learn to speak English, get a job, pay rent, and provide for his family of four children within three months. He describes the opportunity to obtain a Habitat for Humanity house, complete a Master's in social work, further education for his wife, and the success of his eventually seven children. He continues to work at Amazon while preparing for his social work certification. He also serves as an interpreter for other refugees in Swahili, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, French, and English.Interview Accession
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Niyonizigiye, Tite Interview by Jack Wilson. 12 Apr. 2017. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Niyonizigiye, T. (2017, April 12). Interview by J. Wilson. African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Niyonizigiye, Tite, interview by Jack Wilson. April 12, 2017, African Immigrants in the Bluegrass Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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