Editor’s note: For more than a year now, the African Leadership Group has been working to assist the large number of migrants that have arrived in the Denver area over that period of time. We will be featuring individual migrant’s stories every month, in the belief that it is important that the community understand who these hardworking people are. This is especially crucial in light of the hateful rhetoric about migrants being spouted by some national political figures.
Rachel Ngalula, her husband and four children arrived in Colorado in June 2023 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The family emigrated seeking better opportunities for her children, and because they had a thirst to see other parts of the world.
Unlike many recent arrivals, the Ngalula family arrived with visas, making it easier for the adults to land jobs and settle into life here.
But like many highly education immigrants, Rachel and her husband were unable to find work in their professions. Rachel worked back home as an analyst for the national health department, and her husband worked for a nonprofit focused on community and social development.
They still hope to find work here in those fields. But for now, Rachel works as a hotel housekeeper and her husband has a job at Denver International Airport.
Their four children, two boys and two girls ages 16, 14, 12, and 9, attend Denver Public Schools. Going to school here has been an adjustment. The language barrier was one issue, but culture shock was another.
“At home, all the children wear uniforms to school. Here, they wear all sorts of clothes, sometimes improper, immodest clothing. They were shocked at how other students dressed for school.”
The African Leadership Group has played a major role in helping the family adapt to life in Colorado. “ALG helped us find an apartment, helped us get a car, and has generally been a point of guidance and integration for my family,” Rachel said.
Both Rachel and her husband are enrolled in ALG’s English class, which has been a huge help.They are also taking ALG’s financial literacy classes. The children are involved in ALG youth programs.
“We are feeling more integrated on the community at large, and ALG itself is a wonderful community,” Rachel said.
The family also hopes to buy a home at some point in the near future, another endeavor where ALG has offered to lend a helping hand.
