Hi John,  

A new episode of Only in America
 is live and
we went for the gold with this week's guest!
 Makorobondo "Dee"
Salukombo , a refugee from the
Dominican Republic of Congo (DRC) who competed as part of Team
USA in the men's marathon at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer
Olympics and is the founder of Project Kirotshe
. What started as
a program to find runners for an Olympic team has grown
into an initiative emphasizing education in young children
in Dee's home village of Kirotshe as well as vocational
training. Dee and his family fled Kirotshe in 2001 and
eventually landed in Cleveland, Ohio where he first learned to love
running. 

Listen to the episode now on iTunes
, Spotify
, Stitcher
, and more
. 

Since 1996, civil war and conflict have killed over 6 million people in
the DRC. Many young people can't find work or pay
school fees, and are then recruited by rebel groups or
militias. That's partly why Dee started Project Kirotshe and why
they emphasize education and job creation. The program has already seen
some success from some of its students. Beatrice Kamuchanga, also
from the small village of Kirotshe, represented Congo in
the 5,000-meter race in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and
because of the program, has also started her own business. We'll see
you at the finish line of the episode - we can't wait to hear what
you think! 

Listen to our conversation with Dee now on iTunes
, Spotify
, Stitcher
, and more
. 

As part of our recent theme exploring sports and community, last
week  we featured
a story of soccer and a refugee community. The Curbside Cup
 is a soccer tournament for
refugee children in Bowling Green. Co-founders Jean
Bosco Tuyisenge and Terri Sheldon told us how the tournament
came together and the positive domino effect on the community.

Before that, we explored
 the
impact of financial recovery on immigrants and
immigrant families. We spoke to Ramiro Cavazos
, Issaka Kouraogo,
and Lawrence Yoo.  Lawrence
owns Sushiōki which employs area refugees in the Durham, North
Carolina area, Issaka was one of the million essential workers that
worked all through the pandemic as a team leader at Whole Foods,
and Ramiro is the CEO of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The
episode showed how Immigrants are Essential to our recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic - and will inspire you to keep thanking them for
their contributions and advocating on their behalf. 

Like what you hear? Have suggestions for episodes, or a
question for our production team? Let us know! Email us
at [email protected] .

Hope you'll tune in , 

Katie Lutz

**Digital Production Manager**

**National Immigration Forum** 
 

 

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The

**Only in America** podcast brings you to the people behind our
nation's immigration debate.

 

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