Banza: Hi, Adrienne. My name is Banza. I am 49 years old. I am from Grandville.
Adrienne: Hi, Banza. My name is Adrienne. I am 34 years old, and I am from Ferrysburg, Michigan.
Banza: I grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's Central Africa. It's a big country, second largest country in Africa. It's different because over there, my country, the culture is different. So, it’s a tropical country, we don't have a snow, no snow. We don't have a summer. It's a rain and dry season. That's only the climate we have. What about you? Where you grow up?
Adrienne: I grew up in a suburb of the city of Chicago. I guess probably a little bit older suburb. It's not quite the cookie cutter image that I think suburb usually brings to mind. I don't know if you're familiar with the Peace Corps. I was assigned to go to Ghana for two years. I lived in a small community in northern Ghana. So, Ghana does have some coastline that I think is probably considered more tropical. I think where I was, was kind of more savanna. Like you said, very, very, very dry season and a wet season with kind of monsoon-like rains. When I was there, I just kind of did what I could. You're really just in your community, kind of as the sole outsider. And so, we were able to raise some money, and we did build a small library. And there was another organization that supplied books for that, educational things in the small classrooms that they have there, kind of about sanitation and health. And that was a Muslim community. So, some of the Islamic holidays just taking part in that.
Banza: I was born in Democratic Republic of Congo. I left my country when I was 23 years old. Then I moved to a different country, which is Tanzania, is East Africa. The border is a lake. There is a big lake. It's called Tanganyika Lake. It's the second largest in the world. I moved there with my family, my wife, my daughter, and my siblings and my mom. So, we lived in a refugee camp for 15 years. And then from the refugee camp, I got a resettlement from the refugee camp to United States. And right now, in the United States it's almost 13 years.
Adrienne: You think you'll ever go back to DRC, or have you been back?
Banza: Before was not in my country. The first trip I did was in Tanzania. I went back to the refugee camp and then I went back to my country in 2020. So, it was a good experience for me. It was so inspirational, and it touched me so much because the people I left behind, there are some of them, they're no longer alive. Some of them, they died. My friends, we went to school together. I met them. Yeah, it was very good for me to go back and see my friends and my family. So, is there anything you liked the most when you were in Ghana?
Adrienne: Honestly, I really liked the culture, especially where I was at. And they were very, very welcoming of guests. Since going there, I've gotten married and had a kid. So, I think it'd be really, really fun to go back with them. The food was very good too so definitely hard to find here.
Banza: Ha, ha, ha. Yes.
Adrienne: I saw one Ghanaian food truck that is in the area here. I think he's based out of Muskegon.
Banza: Really? We have people from Ghana here around?
Adrienne: He runs that food truck outside mine. He's from the south of Ghana. His experience of Ghana is probably a little different than mine.
Banza: Okay.
Adrienne: Could you briefly describe your personal political values?
Banza: You know, I am a pastor. I don't use to be in political stuff, mostly. But I love so much to tell people you have to vote. It's good to vote. It's the right of any citizen. It's good to know about the political stuff, but I'm not interested to be part of politics. What about you?
Adrienne: I'm not partisan. I, in fact, am not a huge fan of having only two parties, I think that really limits everybody's choices. I agree it's important to vote, but when there's only two parties putting a candidate forward, your vote, it can only go A or B. Not a big fan of that. Probably from there, it really depends on, I think, the topic. I think that's part of my issue with political parties is they each have a platform and you kind of have to sign on to the entire package or not at all. Kind of just makes it seem like there's only two choices on every topic that comes up, but most things have gray areas and nuance that isn't really captured by side A and side B.
Banza: I am a founding pastor of the Restoration Community Church. And the church is, I would say, mostly refugees from Africa. What about you? So, your faith play a role in political stuff?
Adrienne: Yeah, I feel a little guilty. Sorry, pastor. I'm not really that religious. I did grow up going to church. My mother is Presbyterian. My father's Irish Catholic. And I was baptized and confirmed. But I don't know. I think I just never really got religion. I like theology. I like hearing about all the different beliefs. I certainly think it has a role in society.
Banza: You don't have a church that you are affiliated with?
Adrienne: No. I grew up going to church, but no.
Banza: So, if I may ask why? Why you just don't want a religion? You don't want faith?
Adrienne: I think there's just so many things that humans don't know and I think religions kind of across the board just kind of assume they're right about certain things that I would just guess humans can't really know about and so it's just hard for me to buy into it. That said, when I'm struggling with stuff I certainly speak out to the sky as if there's a God.
Banza: Yeah, it's okay. You know, sometimes it's good to take your own decision. So, maybe down the road you will see something and then you can say, oh, let me switch, let me change. Yeah, it happens. God will give you something and then say, ah, let me go.
My mom, she's the one who helped me to know which direction I can take. My mom and my dad they were separated. I lived a long time with my mom, even she passed away last year. So, she was like my hero. And she's the one who shaped me. That's the part of my mom, but I would say God, He showed me the way how I can be together with other people and how I can be a better person. How I can love my neighbor. In French you say, tout v'et in école. It means every life is a class. So, when I was in a refugee camp, the situation I was in shaped me to be a different person because I was living in a place where I'd never been. Living hopeless and discouraged and depressed and stressful. And so now I learn so much. How I can live with other people. How I can live with people different from my culture.
The environment here, the system here in the United States, shaped me as well, shaped me to other level again, to know how I can survive, how I can adjust the life here in the United States. So, what shaped you to be to become today as you were?
Adrienne: First, I'll just say I was nodding along to a lot of what you said and sorry to hear about your mom passing, but glad you had the experience you did with her. I agree, my parents for sure, definitely shaped me. My parents are still together. I’ve had the good fortune of growing up with both of them in the household.
Banza: That's good.
Adrienne: I can definitely see different parts of each of them in me. Yeah, I think as I get older and reflect back, even my grandparents and others definitely can see a lot of the genetics kind of making their way down, shaping who I am and how I see things. I think I'm honestly probably still trying to define who I am and what my core beliefs are. Perhaps not having a faith contributes to that. I think too, humor is very important to me. It makes life enjoyable sometimes even in the bleakest moments. Yeah, I first thought of my mom as well as one of the kindest people you know making sacrifices for me and my siblings and my dad.
Alright Bonza, what's something you will take with you from this experience? Is there anything you learned about me today that surprised you?
Banza: You love people. You love people it doesn't matter about where they come from, what countries because you even travel for two years in Ghana. I'm so happy about you. You love people and you don't have a barrier. I can see that's very good of you.
Adrienne: I didn't realize there was much of a refugee immigrant community in Grand Rapids. I haven't spent much time there. Something I feel like we should be welcoming to refugees, but personally I haven't ever done anything to help them. Like I don't know where they are or how to help them. So, I might have to circle back around to you and your church and see what I can do to help. And then I a lot from you today. Yeah, it's quite a life experience to have. And despite all that, you still seem so optimistic and everything. That's beneficial to me. Thank you.
Banza: Thank you so much, Adrienne. I'm so lucky to have you for the first time. This is my first time to do storytelling. So, you are the first person I meet.
Adrienne: I hope you keep sharing your story.
Banza: Yeah, thank you so much. I hope you share you as well with other people.