With much delight,
Makanja applied for and received a Chicago library card today. He was so
pleased as he realizes it will open some doorways for him. His first request
was to learn to use a computer.
Although he found the
"mouse" a bit tricky at first, he soon caught on. We roamed the
internet. We saw photos of the Tanzanian Refugee Camp where he lived and
through the photos, he explained the camp to us. We saw the Congolese village
of his birth. It is beautiful; the terrain is amazing, it's both hilly and
flat. He showed us the lake that the Congolese need to cross over to escape to
Tanzania when there is a war. He found a photo of one of his paternal
uncles and a cousin who still live in "Fizzi Town", in the Congo.
We're not sure what moved Makanja more today, for once, being our teacher or seeing his birth country and the refugee camp he only left only 4 months
ago.
When we asked, he told
us that he misses the many people that he left behind, but he is so proud to be
in America and hopes his remaining family will also be able to come.
Jackie and Gary Cohen
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