My mom and I moved from Kenya to Southbridge Massachusetts in 2016. At first we didn’t really miss Kenya since we had just left, but after 6 months passed we started to miss Kenya and what made it worse was the fact that we didn’t have a kenyan support system that would help us still feel connected to Kenya even though we were miles away.  This resulted in our move to Lowell where there was a larger Kenyan community. In Lowell we were introduced to a Kenyan church of about 300 Kenyans by my mom’s friend which was a shocker to me because I didn’t expect this many Kenyans in one place. I received my first Kenyan Bracelet from my mom’s friend who she met at this church. I never owned a bracelet since I never needed one because I got to live and experience Kenya each and every single day. This Kenyan bracelet was made of small beads, one side consisted of black, white, red, and green beads which showcased the Kenyan flag and the other side only consisted of black and white beads which showed the name “Kenya” This bracelet began to make me feel connected to Kenya since I couldn’t be around the Kenyan community all the time. Three years later I ordered a custom made bracelet that was to have my last name “Njeri” on it instead of “Kenya” from Kenya and was brought to me by my grandmother when she came to visit the states. These bracelets represent a part of Kenya that is with me everyday and I’m proud of representing my country on a daily basis since the bracelets are on everyday.

– RN

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child