Former Burundian refugee finds a bright future in farming
In her social media posts, Maria comes across as a hardworking, pleasant young woman. She often shares photos of her harvest, inviting her community to stop by and shop. She and her husband own a six acre farm on which they farm vegetables and fruits of all kinds. They sell everything from broccoli to egg fruit. When she lists their most recent harvest, I find myself asking her to describe many of the fruits she mentioned. As a business owner, she is satisfied with how well her life is going. She recalls her journey to becoming a successful farmer with pride.
We spoke on the phone on an early Sunday morning. I could hear the familiar sounds of children seeking their Mama’s attention. In addition to farming and running a business, Maria is a mother of two boys and two girls. She is most pleased that she has a chance to raise her children the way she wants, instead of sending them to daycare while working for someone else. Not only does farming pave a path to the life she wants, it also gives her the space she needs to teach her children her most cherished values. In fact, she points out that the reason she became involved in farming was her a desire to raise a family with freedom to care for them on your own terms. She feels proud to be teaching the children the skills to grow food and feed their community.
However, Maria did not always see a bright future ahead of her. Less than a decade ago, she was a child living with her nine (9) siblings and her parents in a refugee camp in Tanzania. They resettled in Washington State, uncertain where life would take them. Not long after, Maria met her now husband, who had a vision of farming in Hawaii. Maria moved there after they married, leaving her siblings and parents behind. For the past eight (8) years, Maria and her husband have worked tirelessly to grow their business. She excitedly shares that they will open a restaurant in May this year. It will be yet another way through which she can share the harvest from her farm with others.
Maria’s advice to other refugees is to believe in themselves and work hard because nothing is impossible. She is a firm believer in never giving up even when the road to your goals is filled with hurdles. As she has experienced, there comes a time when you realize that you have accomplished what you set out to do. In Maria’s case, she set out to farm, feed her family, feed her community, and build a future. In the end, she has become a proud contributing member of her community, a job creator, and a strong advocate for healthy, fresh food. She is most proud that she is giving her children a great foundation for the future that is much brighter than she could have imaged.
This article was first published on Refugee Center Online.
