Last Sunday, I had the privilege of attending the christening of Janet and Monga’s four children at the Christian Reformed Church, here in Kemptville. This is the family RING (Refugees in North Grenville) sponsored from Africa last year, and we published an article on them at the time. I had the opportunity to sit down with Monga after the christening to chat on how the past year has gone for the family.
Monga is a very gentle and softspoken man. Considering the life he and his family fled from, he seems very content, and his children appear to be well adjusted. Coming from city life, he and his family love living in a small town and have decided to make Kemptville their permanent home. Monga is very impressed with how welcoming their neighbours and community have been, and they feel very much a part of North Grenville. Their youngest child was born in May, and their three older children attend South Branch Elementary School. Monga himself has been working at the Ferguson Forestry Centre for the past year, and now has decided to go back to school full time to study water and waste management, something very close to his heart, and of vital importance to all of our communites.
I asked him if it was hard to adapt to this new life. His answer was quite simple. “This is a great community, we have a sense of security here, and it is very giving. There’s a wonderful feeling of belonging.”
