I was a refugee. Today, I am an advocate.

I was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation in the heart of Africa that is wealthy in resources, but gripped by the abhorrent reality of extreme poverty as a consequence of political instability and conflicts in which gender-based violence is utilized as a weapon of war. 

I am a refugee. As a child growing up in the Congo, I learned at an early age that not every child has an equal chance in life. I recall when I was eight years old. Shortly after a political strife between warmongers, which resulted in missiles falling near schools, a newly transferred student in my third grade classroom quickly became my friend. His name was Lionel. 

Lionel was a happy child who was loved by everyone who met him. In moments when he had a modest amount of cash on him, he never hesitated to assure all of his friends had something to eat before they returned home – including me. On a Thursday, I recall asking Lionel for food. Radiating with a smile, he promised that on Monday he would reserve something for me. On that Monday, Lionel never made it to school. Lionel had passed away over that weekend due to a preventable illness. In light of the lack of adequate healthcare institutions within a country already facing developmental crises, Lionel succumbed to a preventable disease – just as many children his own age far too often succumb to malaria, pneumonia, or polio. 

Throughout the developing world, children die every single day from preventable diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a child dies from malaria nearly every minute. Malaria infects 249 million people and kills over 600,000 people annually. With respect to areas of conflict, for instance, refugee camps in the Kivu regions of Eastern Congo, the circumstances are increasingly grim. The choice between health and survival is one that is impossible for families fleeing conflict. Nevertheless, families are often confronted with such choices. As a little boy, I still remember my own nearly fatal experience battling malaria prior to my arrival in the United States. I would often question how I had survived, while many had not. 

Today, as an advocate here in the United States, I utilize my platform to speak on behalf of the children of the Congo and the greater need for humanitarian assistance as it pertains to childhood immunization. In our younger years, my brothers and I were privileged to have benefited from UNICEF campaigns, often providing essential vaccines in remote places. The reality is that every child does not have this chance and the congruent struggles therefore remain unchanged for many in the Congo. 

Vaccines save lives and we must act. Campaigns such as the United Nations Foundations’ Shot@Life are dedicated to ensuring that a chance to thrive becomes a right, entitled to every child, irrespective of the nation from which they are born. The children of the Congo are people like us, with hopes and dreams like ours. Children like Lionel deserve a chance to live. 

By extending compassion to those who cannot protect themselves, through advocacy and active engagement, we partake in our duty as citizens of this world to not only safeguard the well-being and rights of vulnerable communities, but to also make sure that no child is left behind.