Jean-Claude Mauridi

State: Texas

City of Residence: Fort Worth, Texas

Country of origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Arrival in the U.S.: 1999

Mr. Jean-Claude Mauridi was 16 years old when war broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He fled his country in order to avoid recruitment by the rebels, and spent the next ten years in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe. He currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife, son, and two daughters where he works as an Employment Case Manager at a refugee services and resettlement agency. He is most proud of contributing to his community by bringing refugees from different countries together as one through sports, and being able to talk about issues affecting them daily.

Word for U.S.: Freedom