Essi was born and raised in Gabon. Her family heritage is Togolese, but prior to her birth her parents fled Togo for their personal safety. The country was being run by the dictator Eyadema Gnassingbe and her father Koffi’s political affiliations endangered their family. The Mensah family lived in Gabon for many years. In 2004, Koffi was given the opportunity to come to the United States with his work in the Peace Corps. After arriving, Koffi filed for asylum and applied for the rest of his family to join him.
Essi was attending school in Senegal at the time. She was studying computer science at a university when she found out that she and the rest of her family would be reunited in America! Before leaving, she finished her degree and came to Minnesota in November of 2006. Her mother, brother and sister had arrived in September. Two weeks after Essi’s entrance into the U.S. she was contacted by Refugee Services employee Williametta Saydee. The two began meeting and discussed job opportunities and schools that she could attend. She and her sister attended Employment Orientation and Extended Cultural Orientation at MCC. Essi also had problems with her social security authorization. Williametta worked with her to resolve the issue and provided bus passes to assist her with transportation around the Twin Cities.
After settling into Minnesota, Essi started school at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College in the spring of 2007. She is still attending full-time. Essi is also working part-time as a sales associate at Macy’s.
Her father Koffi is now a teacher in the Twin Cities. Essi’s mother Adjo is currently looking for work, and both of Essi’s younger siblings are attending school. The Mensah family is happy to be together again in Minnesota and grateful for the assistance Refugee Services was able to provide.
* The name of this client has been changed for the sake of privacy
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