When the family left Rwanda, they left with almost no possessions, not even photographs.
I have photos of myself going back to 1960 when I was born and that helps inform the narrative of my life.
So, in September 2020, I hired a professional photographer to take pictures of the whole family so they can begin to write their own family history in America.
(rev 10-20)
Mediatrice and Clement
Mediatrice is pronounced: Mee-de-ah-tris. Or, just call her Mama Fi. (Fi is pronounced: fee)
Justine is the oldest daughter, 26 years old. Justine goes by Fi (pron: fee)
Before western European countries began colonizing Africa in the late 1800s, Africans in central, eastern Africa identified with a demographic of Bantu. Bantu culture actually values women more than men! Men only hunt game and make war, but women give and nurture life. And women know how to live off the land.
So the first-born daughter usually takes the nickname of Fi as an honor of being the first-born daughter. Then once the first daughter comes along, the mother is then called mama-Fi which connotes a lot of respect and honor. Personally, I love that practice in a world that is usually male-centered! And speaking of living off the land, their diet is mostly roots, sorghum grain, vegetables, and fruit. Everything kind of gets cooked together so you end up with little contrast of texture. They love it because it’s what they grew up on. But my American palate really can’t get used to it. Think of Thanksgiving dinner: how many dishes are cooked, roasted, boiled, fried, and braised? Then everything gets served separately for lots of texture and contrasting tastes. But… the 3 younger girls have developed quite a taste for Chick-fil-A and McDonalds. And candy and ice cream!
Jackson is the only son and 2nd child, 25 years old. His African name is Gariso. Any time you hear one of the girls taking about Gariso, that’s actually Jackson
Emmerance is 19 years old and arrived with her dad in March, 2020. She’s very quiet and introverted and having the most difficulty adjusting.
I think her dream would be to become a homemaker and mother. She loves helping her mom with the cooking and housework.
Most of the family immigrated to the US in September 2017, but Emmeramce and her dad were left behind due to issues with the State Dept. So Emmerance was separated from her mom and family for more than 2 years.
Esperance is 18. Very outgoing and kind and loves to socialize. She can just sit and talk with her girlfriends for hours about anything.
She prefers to go by either Fofo or Fo.
Her middle name is Fortune and Fofo is a Kinyarwandan slang for fortune.
Claire is 15 and loves sports. She’s a bit introverted but makes friends easily. I’m also very introverted and see a lot of my teenage self in Claire. I love the whole family, but Claire has a special place in my heart. I’m impressed with just how respectful all the kids are of their parents. I recall a rebellious streak in me when I was their age. Claire has an alpha-personality which make her very goal-driven in school and sports
Jasmine is 10 and very extroverted and loves to talk. She’s actually more fluent in English now than Kinyarwanda. Sometimes she askes me if I think she talks too much; I tell her as long as she has something to say, I’ll listen. It’s an interesting study in how younger kids just seem to learn a new language whereas an adult has trouble. Fofo and Claire have a good handle on American culture and understand English. But they still struggle with pronunciation and sentence structure.