The Last Five Years

Throughout the last five years, Kirksville has become more diverse than anyone could imagine previously.

My siblings and I were some of the first Congolese students to move into Kirksville and attend the public school.

When I started attending William Matthews Middle School in 2014 as a sixth grader, the school had not dealt with many students who spoke English as a second language. As that school year went by the faulty really showed that they were willing to help us in so many ways, like starting an ESL (English Second Language) class.

As the years go by, more Congolese families are still moving into this little town we call home. Moving to the United States was my family’s second chance in life and also a way to find better education and jobs, but I did not want to limit this story to my family.

Families like mine are here because of the opportunities we did not get in our country. Kirksville is a starting point for most of us.

In the Congo education is really expensive, so only the richest get educated. People die of starvation and disease because they cannot afford to buy food and medicine.

The government is also very corrupt which makes the country very unsafe. Many violent rebel groups kidnap children to make them join.

I went around KHS to ask other students about their stories and why their families chose Kirksville. KHS junior Jhesone Nsungula’s family moved to the United States because his mother won the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery.

The DV Lottery, also known as the green card lottery, is a United States government lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. Like Nsungula’s family, many families moved to America with this process. Nsungula stated that his mom did not believe that they had won the lottery and was very surprised that they had won.

Prospective immigrants must state where they will live in the United States. Nsungula said his family was supposed to live with his uncle in Dallas, but their plans changed last minute, and they ended up in Kirksville. Nsungula’s family is just one of the Congolese families with this kind of story.

There are many good things about the Congo as well. The Congo is also known for its wealthy natural resources, including 80% of the world’s supply of coltan, a heat-resistant powder used in smartphones. The Congo also has a very diverse culture - there are about 242 dialects that are spoken in the Congo.