Today we’d like to introduce you to Leonard Bagalwa.
Hi Leonard, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Leonard Bagalwa, I was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am married with five children. I completed my undergraduate education in Public Health and my Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) at Utah Valley University.
I was kidnaped and forced to join the military at the age of 17 in my home country of the DRCongo. After six months of training in the bush, I escaped… and later on, the Catholic priest smuggled me out of the country and I lived in refugee camps in several different refugee camps for seven years until 2004 when he came to the United States.
In the United States, life wasn’t easy, I became homeless and slept outside of the Provo Library at night. One day, however, a man came up to me and offered me a place to live with him in South Jordan and later offered me a job. A year later, I moved back to Orem and lived with some friends who also spoke Swahili, I ended to go to school.
Started school in 2007 and after five years I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public health and found a job where I was able to help my fellow refugees in SLC, where I was doing health or medical case management for refugees. In 2016, I started Utah Valley Refugees (https://utahvalleyrefugees.org), a 501c3 nonprofit organization that is helping refugees in Utah County.
In addition, I am the founder and former president of UVU African Club, a club that transformed the perception of Africa in the eyes of the local community and state of Utah. I am also the founder and Executive Director of the Utah Valley Refugees.
I am and have been committed to helping others. To me, it’s like a calling. I want to make a positive impact as I can make in the world to bless many individuals. I believe that my personal experiences and the work I do can empower people and transform their lives.
I have been recognized for my humanitarian work and have received multiple awards from, Utah Freedom Festival Utah Business -Living Color, Utah Valley360 – Fab40, and many more… (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPd9Vbl-bn7hJsjP1KpwWzw)
In brief details: In 1980, I was born as my mother was hiding in the bushes to stay safe from rebel soldiers. That year, there was a war in our village, South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where kings were fighting one another. It was a miracle that I survived birth and was healthy.
My traditional African name, Mirindi, means “on the run.” As a child, I was embarrassed by that name and did not want to be a reminder of what the name entails. It was a very difficult experience for my mother to have a newborn during the war.
My family was very poor, requiring me to start work very young. At age eight, I worked in the gold mines to collect gold to use for food and other necessities for my family. A few years later, I was able to attend primary school. Every day, I woke up very early in the morning to walk three hours to school.
Growing up in my home, there was never enough food, so we often went hungry. We also lacked other necessities like shoes and proper clothing. During class, I sat in the back of the room to avoid being made fun of for having holes in my clothing.
My parents did not have the opportunity to get the education that they wanted. My father always knew the importance of school and wanted a better life for us. Because school was expensive, my dad asked my uncle to raise my older brother, since all he wanted was for my brother to attend school.
Without resources and support, it was difficult for my dad to provide the life that he wanted for his children. My mother has always been very spiritual, and she taught us the importance of relying on God.
There were many hard aspects of my childhood, one of which was waking up at 4 a.m. to fetch water to drink. It took an hour to walk down to collect the water and an hour to carry back the water on my head. We also showered in the river and had to look for our own food. My mother emphasized we learned these important skills so that we were ready to become adults. It was very hard, but I also understand that if I hadn’t grown up that way, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
In 1997, I was kidnapped and forced to join and fight with the rebel soldiers. After six months of training, I escaped, only to be hunted down by individuals who knew I had rebel secrets. After pygmies in the jungle protected me and returned me to my hut. I found that those hunting me had killed my brothers. I left the Congo soon after and lived briefly in a refugee camp in Malawi before being transferred to a camp in Zimbabwe. In 2004, I was able to come to the United States.
My journey to America was not easy, and I arrived in Salt Lake City knowing little English. Without family, money, or education, it was quite the adjustment to get used to life in the United States.
I was not used to using appliances or the indoor bathrooms. I missed the village lifestyle that I was used to and asked around where I could find a village-like town, which led me to Payson. I started work on a farm in a town much bigger than I had anticipated. After working in Payson, I moved to Provo and worked as a night guard at the city cemetery. I soon quit because of my native beliefs regarding the dead.
Without savings, I became homeless and slept outside of the Provo Library at night. One day, however, a man came up to me and offered me a job and a place to live on his farm in South Jordan. A year later, I moved in with some friends who also spoke Swahili, and they advised me to go to school.
Without a high school diploma, I felt discouraged in pursuing my education. I was enrolled in high school in South Jordan, and I felt very uncomfortable being 24 years old and knowing less than my classmates. Eventually, I enrolled in Utah Valley University (UVU), which was Utah Valley State College at the time. And I took the GED placement test nine times before passing.
I was placed into English 890 and felt very motivated to be alongside students from China, Brazil, and Mexico in the class. I also enrolled in a student success class which was very helpful as I adjusted to college. Math was the hardest class for me, and I ended up taking Math 890 four times before passing.
My advisor, Robert Williams, told me that I wasn’t struggling because I did not know math, but because I didn’t understand English very well yet. He empowered me to translate the problems into my own language to help me comprehend the subject better.
Although the school was hard for me, I persisted in my degree. It took me seven years to get my bachelor’s degree in public health. I am very grateful for the experience that I had to learn at UVU. Upon graduating, I started to think about ways that I could help solve public health issues. I knew that starting a business would be the best way to collaborate with the community and provide helpful resources to those in need.
The motivation I had to start a business inspired me to pursue a higher degree in business administration. With my low-grade point average from my bachelor’s degree, I was not accepted into the program. I reached out to an advisor in the program, and he said if I passed the five prerequisite courses with a B or higher, I would be able to participate in the program. I performed very well in the courses and finished with A’s. Despite not taking any business classes in my bachelor’s degree, I succeeded in the master’s program.
While I was at UVU, I worked to recruit other refugees like me to get their education. I started the UVU African Club, now the African Diaspora Initiative, to bring more diversity to UVU and to help students in the way that I had been helped while starting my degree. I used my leadership skills to teach many students about available resources and financial support.
While helping these student refugees, I felt motivated to start a non-profit organization called Utah Valley Refugee to support individuals as they transition from other countries to the United States. Utah Valley Refugee offers housing, school-related financial support, and other resources to help refugees be successful.
My story is long. This is just short summary of it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, my life and journey to America were not easy, and I arrived in Salt Lake City knowing little English. Without family, money, or education, it was quite the adjustment to get used to life in the United States. I was not used to using appliances or the indoor bathrooms. I missed the village lifestyle that I was used to and asked around where I could find a village-like town, which led me to Payson.
I started work on a farm in a town much bigger than I had anticipated. After working in Payson, I moved to Provo and worked as a night guard at the city cemetery. I soon quit because of my native beliefs regarding the dead. Without savings, I became homeless and slept outside of the Provo Library at night.
One day, however, a man came up to me and offered me a job and a place to live on his farm in South Jordan. A year later, I moved in with some friends who also spoke Swahili, and they advised me to go to school.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Utah Valley Refugees?
Established in 2016, Utah Valley Refugees is a private, nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS Code and is a collaborative community partnership that works to improve the lives of refugee immigrants adjusting to life in Utah County.
We provide services such as affordable housing and medical care, employment, and educational services for qualified low-income refugees living in Utah County. The mission is to empower refugees in their quest to become self-reliant.
We serve refugees who have been forced to flee their countries because of armed conflict, ethnic cleansing, regime change, forced displacement, threats to themselves and their families, and other persecution. When they cross the border into another country, they may integrate into an urban area, or live in camps—sometimes for years, even decades, before a durable solution is found for them.
On average, Utah welcomes 1,100 refugees each year. They bring skills, values, and attributes with them that make our communities vibrant and strong. While some refugees come with little education or formal job skills, others have obtained higher education and are experienced in their professional careers.
Utah is home to more than 60,000 refugees who are placed in Salt Lake County after they are resettled in Utah by the Catholic Community Services and the International Rescue Committee, where they receive case management services for 8 to 24 months.
After the government-funded refugee assistance program expires, refugees are expected to fend for themselves. Utah Valley Refugees offers integration assistance beyond the government program and helps refugees relocate from Salt Lake County to other parts of Utah, where more resources are available to them.
UVR developed services and programs to ensure that refugee families can provide for their basic needs, including housing and healthcare, gainful employment, and education while they integrate into new communities.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@utahvalleyrefugees.org
- Website: www.utahvalleyrefugees.org
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/utahvalleyrefugees?r=nametag
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uvr16
- Twitter: @utahvalleyrefugees
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPd9Vbl-bn7hJsjP1KpwWzw
