Refugees plant roots in Pittsburgh

This refugee came here in 1983, was helped by Catholic Charities, went to school, got his MBA and now works for a Jewish group helping new immigrants and refugees.   - - Donna Poisl

Jewish Family & Children's Service helps new arrivals acclimate to the area

By Elizabeth Bloom / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It was 1983 when a decades-long civil war broke out in Sudan and displaced Benedict Killang.

He was unable to reach his family members and unaware of their whereabouts for almost two decades. In 1996, he arrived in Nigeria, where he lived in a refugee camp and went to college. After completing his degree, he saw few working opportunities, so he applied for refugee status in the United States and, in 2002, was given a one-way ticket to America.

His destination? Pittsburgh.
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