Submitted by Elias Niyukuri
When I was in Africa, life was difficult for me. I had a really tough life there. I never went to school, because where I lived you need to have money to go to school. If you don’t have money you can’t go to school. My whole life was so messed up by age 13. I never even knew how to write my name, but one teacher who I met was a kind man. He became my tutor. He wanted to help me because in our family we were so poor. He taught me how to write my name, and even how to spell it. He became someone close to me. He helped me a lot.
In 2015, we came to America. I was 15 years old. I thought that American schools will be the same as in Africa - that we will have to pay for school fees, but I was not expecting it when they told me that here you don’t pay for school fees, except maybe if you are in college. I was so happy. I didn’t speak any English when I came here. It was hard for me to learn a new language. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helped me learn English for 2 years. I am so proud of where I am now.