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Raho Warsame struggled as a parent when she landed in the U.S. years ago, but shares how she learned to navigate the system.


"We were really excited about the life. We said, we have an opportunity, now to really use it. And that's how we really educated ourselves. First of all, saying, we are here. What do we need to do? Support each other. Go, and grow together. And that's how we really make it through." 

Warsame said she thinks choosing to build a life among the "survivors" living in the ice and snow in Minnesota was her wisest decision. 

"All these people live in this kind of ice you are describing for me? They said, yes. Oh, I'm gonna be part of them. They survived. I gotta be surviving. I was in Kenya. No idea what it looks like in the winter time here. So we cope with it, not wearing appropriate shoes, keep falling down. We didn't break any bones with it, but we keep falling down."

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Raho Warsame, 51, is a single mother of four grown children and property manager with the Project for Pride in Living in Minneapolis.

In their own words: Raho Warsame

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