For immigrants, especially those who are new here, the U.S. democratic system is complicated and mysterious.
Georges Budagu Makoko
Georges Budagu Makoko is the founder of the nonprofit organization Ladder to the Moon Network and the publisher of Amjambo Africa, a multilingual news organization based in Portland. He was born in Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to Rwanda in 1994, where he graduated from National University of Rwanda in Business Administration. In 2002, he moved to the United States, where he received asylum. He is the author of "Ladder to the Moon: Journey from the Congo to America," about his life story. Budagu speaks six languages, including English, French, and Swahili. He was a senior property manager with Avesta Housing in Maine for 15 years. In 2019, he and a group of friends started Serenity Residential Care, a social and human services organization.
LATEST ARTICLES
A look at how Maine’s schools could improve teaching of immigrant kids
Maine school systems have abundant resources to offer, though many immigrant families are unaware of the resources available to help students succeed.
The importance of family and the costs of a slow asylum process
Joyous college graduations of Maine’s immigrant students remind us of the slow reunification process that many families endure.
The Ukraine war retraumatizes many immigrants who have come to Maine
Georges Budagu Makoko says many of the people who have immigrated to Maine in the last 50 years were fleeing “devastating violence,” like that being experienced in Ukraine.
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