An Idyllic childhood and the turmoil that brought it to an end

Baja Dalla grew up in the Sudanese city of Malakal in a close knit Christian family. The middle child of seven siblings, three brothers and four sisters, Baja doesn't remember where he fit in the line-up in his family, since he lost all of them-except his father, by the time he was eleven. When the Muslim/Christian conflict arose in the Sudan, Baja and his family fled from his village amid chaos, gunfire and massive looting.

He remembers the huts of his village being burnt down as the town fled. Small children who could not keep up, including Baja's cousins, were tossed into the burning huts and burnt alive. This turmoil ended Baja's idyllic childhood. His pleasant memories of Africa-fishing and hunting with his dog to bring home game for his mother, sharing communal meals with his family and village, and enjoying the love and support of his brothers and sisters, mother and father- it all ended for Baja in the panicked flight from his home.

That evening was only the beginning of a nightmare journey for Baja. For two months, his family traveled on foot to Ethiopia. With little food and poor living conditions, many of the refugees died en route to the settlement camps. Baja lost all of his siblings and his mother by the time he reached Ethiopia. Exhausted from the journey and depleted physically, Baja's father died in the camp.

Life in a refugee camp

Baja, not yet a teenager, faced life in a refugee camp. Living alone in a tent with meager rations, Baja still attempted to attend school every day. After a day at school, he would try to find work-digging ditches or other manual labor to try to supplement his meals. Many days his work schedule would last for twelve hours preventing him from going to school at all. This isolated existence was Baja's life for six years. The hardest part was the loneliness for the boy who had grown up surrounded by family and community. "I would see other families and would miss my family; I would try not to look at the families with many brothers and sisters."

Baja thinks he was around 16 when he met a pretty young girl, Nyanchi, at school. He was smitten and eventually asked her family if he could marry her. Nyanchi's family was not enthusiastic about Baja. Her family was intact, and they were concerned Baja could only offer her a lonely life in the camp. He could not offer her any hopes financially and could not begin to acquire the traditional dowry her family expected: 20 cows, 10 sheep, 2 pigs and 15 gourds.

It was only when the UN approved Baja for the United States relocation program that the marriage was approved. For the first part of their marriage, they lived in the refugee camp; Nyanchi even delivered their first child, Joshua, in the small tent of their refugee home.

Baja finds his way home

Not long after Joshua was born, Baja and Nyanchi moved to Chattanooga through the Bridge Refugee Program. They found a modest one bedroom apartment and Baja began working at the American Plastic Company where he works for $9.00 an hour as a machine operator. Through the Bridge, Baja was referred to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. Baja eagerly applied to start the homeownership process, and has quickly become one the most enthusiastic and hard-working Habitat applicants.

Habitat Homeowners are required to complete 300 hours of sweat equity in addition to home ownership classes. Baja has quickly accumulated many of his hours and can be found working in the Habitat ReStore every weekend. Baja's smile lights up the store as he works tirelessly loading and unloading the ReStore deliveries. It's hard to imagine this beautiful spirit endured the terror and atrocities of his childhood. He thinks living in Chattanooga has helped him put some of the worst memories behind him. "Living in the US has helped me forget about all that I have been thinking. It has helped me forget feeling alone and like nobody's helping me, being alone and missing my family. It was very hard to survive. But here is good, because I am working to get everything I need."

Baja’s dreams

Baja has dreams of going back to school and studying to become a doctor. He loves science and has always longed for the opportunity to go to college. Becoming a Habitat homeowner could be the first step on the road to that goal. Baja and Nyanchi welcomed their baby girl, Josephine, into the world in late November. Surrounded by a loving family, Baja is ready to have a place to call home…again.