Education has been the key to finding refuge in Kansas City for Engoma Fataki.
Fataki’s family fled a civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when he was an infant. Along with his parents and eight siblings, he lived in refugee camps in four African nations.
“My entire childhood I spent in refugee camps,” Fataki said. “My background is full of trauma… Those things still haunt me to this day.”
Fataki’s father, Fataki Mutambala, now is a preacher who leads a congregation of more than 100 African refugees in the city’s historic northeast section.
Engoma, meanwhile, has leaned hard into furthering his education. He now serves as the student body president at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. Ultimately, he plans to go into international law.
“I can’t make all the change,” he said. “But the little difference that I can make will impact a lot of lives.”
See more in this week’s video installment of “Finding Refuge in KC.”
Reading these stories is free, but telling them is not. Start your monthly gift now to support Flatland’s community-focused reporting.
Related Stories
Nick’s Picks | Messi, Jail, Buses, and More …
World Cup Team(s) Arrive It’s starting to feel real. The first World Cup team has landed in Kansas City. Defending champions Argentina touched down at KCI airport on Sunday and will begin practicing today at Sporting KC’s training facility in Wyandotte County. Much of the attention, of course, is focused on Lionel Messi. The soccer…
World Cup ‘Statement Piece’ Evokes Best Version of Kansas City
Before I moved to Kansas City almost 56 years ago, I had been here only once — for a brief visit to the Kansas City Press Club when I was attending the University of Missouri School of Journalism. But because of that visit and the fact that I grew up in the Midwest (Woodstock, Illinois,…
KU Center Helps Women Gain Foothold After Incarceration
A flier from her probation officer was the turning point for Jodi Whitt, who had spent more than two decades in and out of the criminal justice system. The piece of paper introduced Whitt to the Technology Education Program offered by the University of Kansas’ Center for Digital Inclusion. Since 2019, Whitt has risen through…