HOME IS A PLACE TO START ANEW
Mebrak
A mother and her children find a new place to call home.
In February, Mebrak, a 45-year-old mother of two, embarked on a new chapter as she stepped off the plane into Chicago. This moment marked the end of a grueling eight-year wait in a Kenyan refugee camp, a time filled with hardship and uncertainty. Mebrak is originally from Eritrea, where she and her husband lived what was felt to be an average, quiet life.
Her husband served in the military, as all men are required to, and she lived closely with her family. She was stunned one day to have soldiers at her house, interrogating her about her husband’s whereabouts. “You should know where he is,” she told them. Her candor did not sit well with the soldiers and began a series of threats that would lead Mebrak to flee Eritrea with her brother. Heartbreakingly, her children would have to stay behind with hopes of reuniting later.
During the perilous journey through Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, her brother passed away. She never received word from her husband. Thankfully, Mebrak’s children were able to join her in Kenya. The family tried to make a life there while they applied and waited for refugee status with the UN Refugee Agency, but it was constant instability. They were forced to move from one temporary shelter to another, often sharing cramped quarters with other families. Mebrak struggled to find work, never knowing how long she would stay. The feeling of home was always out of reach.
After fleeing Eritrea and spending years in limbo waiting for the opportunity to be resettled, Mebrak, Betiel, and Pawlos are relieved to have a place their family can call home in Chicago. Finally, they received the long-awaited notice of resettlement to Chicago. Mebrak’s joy was mixed with nervous anticipation for the opportunity. The promise of a new life brought hope, but the challenge of starting over in another unfamiliar place was overwhelming.
Upon arrival at O’Hare, Mebrak and her children were greeted warmly by RefugeeOne. The stress of so many years of uncertainty could begin to unravel as they were shown around their very own apartment on the north side of Chicago. “I didn’t expect that when I arrived, I would have everything in the house,” Mebrak said, surprised. “It felt like a dream.”
With a comfortable home already equipped with the basics and their initial rent covered by RefugeeOne, the process of integration into their new community was jump started.
15-year-old Betiel is thriving in high school, a short walk from their apartment. She’s also attending RefugeeOne’s Teen After-School Program, where she’s making friends and getting help with coursework to catch up with her peers.
20-year-old Pawlos has enrolled at Truman College with big plans to study surgical medicine. He had his first meeting with a RefugeeOne volunteer mentor, where they had coffee and set some goals for the summer. First up? Visiting the Art Institute, watching a soccer game, and meeting other Eritreans in the city.
Mebrak still feels the mixed emotions that come with starting life in a new place, including the loneliness of having family and friends left behind. She finds solace in the connections she’s made in the local Eritrean community and church. “As long as I am with my children, everything is fine,” she says.
Looking to the future, Mebrak’s strongest desires are to reunite with her sister, who remains displaced in Kenya, and to see her children flourish. “Let me put my children through school, have the opportunity I did not have at my age. I want them to be successful.” Home is the place where those dreams can start to take root.
Being together, with opportunities in front of them and community members to help along the way, means Mebrak’s family is hopeful about a bright future in Chicago.
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