Joy

By jopiri

  • Birth

    This is the day that started it all. I was born a few days after my mother graduated from college with her bachelors degree. I was born in Kitale, Kenya and I am the youngest of 4 children. I was named after my aunt and that is where Anindo came from.

  • Moving to America

    My parents saved money to apply for a green card, because they wanted me and my siblings to have a better life and get more opportunities in America. Back in Kenya, everyone saw moving to America as the dream. Not everyone got the chance to go to America, it was a 1 in a million type of thing. My mother and father applied numerous times and didn't get the green card until the 4th try. Months later we boarded the plane and came to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to live with a family friend.

  • Church Service in LA

    Prior to making the change of churches, me and my family went to a Pentecostal church. We did not see it best fit for us, so we started going to an International Christian Church. In this church, there were plenty of other Africans. This is where I met my new friends and family. Me and my family naturally joined the church and we became family with the church. I've been in this church since '12 and me and my mom, dad, and brother left in August '19.

  • The Great Flood of 2016

    During the days of August 12, 2016 - August 22, 2016, Baton Rouge, Louisiana experienced 2+ feet of rain. Thousands of homes were damaged and it cost millions to rebuild everything. It took people over 2 years to get back on their feet. Me and my family had to relocate because of the result of the flood. Every time it would rain heavy, people would panic and assume they'd be a flood. The Great Flood of 2016 instilled fear in residents of Baton Rouge. It changed everything.

  • LA. to AR.

    During the summer of 2019, my mother got a job opportunity to be an Assistant Professor at Henderson University. She had been previously looking for a job, so when the opportunity came, she took it. We made the 6 hour drive from Greater Baton Rouge to Arkadelphia, AR and settled down. Moving from a big city of 825,000 people to a small city of 10,000 was a big change. The move really impacted me and my family greatly.