In early June, a small group of us spent a few hours working on a North Side home that was almost complete, built by Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity. We painted the trim and readied the floors for carpeting.
The highlight of the day was when we met the home’s soon-to-be owner, Vianny Kayimbula, a Congolese refugee, and worked alongside him as he touched up his dining room walls.
He, his wife and five children were scheduled to receive the keys to their home on June 24 — after putting in 350 hours of volunteer time. Kayimbula invited all of us to his house on that day, emphasizing that this will be his family’s last stop — a home that will take the place of one they left in a country that has been traumatized by a war that left millions dead or displaced. Read any of Jeffrey Gettleman’s New York Times reporting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, and you’ll immediately sense how significant this house is to the Kayimbulas.
In 2016, nearly 400 refugees settled here.
As we were tossing trash into the dumpster, Kayimbula was in his kitchen, speaking with the owner of a house two doors down from his — a man whom he met for the first time that afternoon and with whom he was swapping phone numbers. As it turns out, both are church pastors. Small world.
The same “small world” notion is what pushes Patrick Braford to find more ways to help refugees who find themselves in Richmond, as we learn in this month’s feature by Jessica Ronky Haddad. In 2016, nearly 400 refugees settled here, the most in four years, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services,
As the founder of Reestablish Richmond, Braford initially focused on the language, housing and transportation issues that challenge refugees. He then stepped down from leading Reestablish to work on a new project: building a painting company that would employee refugees.
Through Haddad’s story, we learn what motivates Braford and his crew members. In the end, it’s the sense of accomplishment that comes from hearing people call Richmond home, after a long state of uncertainty and unknowing.
“When they finally get to Richmond, they feel like they have reached a conclusion on that journey, a feeling like ‘I’m home now,’ ” Braford shared. “Being a part of what provides that feeling, provides hope, meaning and a sense of safety and well-being is important.”
Just ask Vianny Kayimbula.
