James Kaskile

Some of you may know about my friend James, a Congolese refugee and father of five living in Providence, RI, where I met him in 2010 while working as a refugee mentor. We worked together for three years on his English, job training, and assimilation to life in the States.

Frankly, it was not a heavy lift for me. James speaks five languages, served as an official intermediary between the United Nations presence and displaced persons in IDP camps in Chad, and is the leader of the Congolese refugee movement in his community in Rhode Island. He is a born leader and a person of great integrity, and he taught me more about refugee politics and foreign policy in sub-Saharan Africa than any class I took.

Over the course of our working relationship, James and I became incredibly close. He and his wife and kids sat right next to my parents and my best friends from high school at my graduation from Brown University. When I lived in Providence a few months thereafter, I went to his home nearly every Friday night for family dinner. 




It's been my practice to steer clear of crowdsourcing.

But when both James's car broke down, and then he and his wife both lost their jobs, putting together a campaign felt like the most expedient way to invest in a family I wholeheartedly believe in.

James has now secured a position washing and drying clothes, but he and his wife accrued $3,000 of bills during their month of unemployment. It's my hope to defray these costs for the family and ultimately to empower James to secure a livelihood that reflects his intellect and capabilities. 

I am extremely grateful to you, my family and friends, for any amount you are able to donate in furtherance of that cause. 

With love,

Manya