Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Series
Title
Oral history interview with Divine Irambona
Date(s)
- 2019-05-18 (Creation)
Extent
1.11 gigabytes; 1 online resource (1 audio file (1 hr., 44 min., 1 sec.)) WAV
Name of creator
Biographical history
Divine Irambona was born to Burundian parents in the Kanembwa refugee camp in Tanzania in 1995. Her mother died a few days after Irambona's birth. After a decade, her family was approved for asylum in the United States and they were resettled in Beaverton, Oregon. She attended Western Oregon University, where she founded the African Students and Friends Association and served as president of the International Student Club. She continued her education while experiencing life-threatening health problems, and she graduated from WOU in 2018 with a degree in sociology. She worked as a peer support specialist at Northwest Human Services and volunteered with refugees in Salem, Oregon.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Divine Irambona was conducted by Sankar Raman on May 18, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. Shea Seery was also present and occasionally contributed interview questions.
In this interview, Irambona discusses her family background in Burundi and the reasons her parents fled to Tanzania. She talks about her early life in the Kanembwa refugee camp in Tanzania, including an attack on her home just before the family was resettled in the United States; living conditions in the camp; and her education. She also discusses the significance of her name. She then talks about being resettled in the United States and adjusting to life in Beaverton, Oregon, including jobs her father and stepmother worked. She speaks at length about her education, including racist bullying she experienced, learning English, and making friends. She talks about her experience studying sociology at Western Oregon University, and discusses continued racist bullying she endured, founding the African Students and Friends Association, and health problems that affected her education. She closes the interview by describing her work with Northwest Human Services at the time of the interview in 2019, her volunteer work with refugees in Salem, and her plans for the future.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of The Immigrant Story, February 2021 (Lib. Acc. RL2021-009).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Publication notes
An article about Divine Irambona, "Dignity in Helping Others" by Shea Seery, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/dignity-in-helping-others/.
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Divine Irambona, by Sankar Raman, SR 12297, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.
Sources used
Archivist's note
Sarah Stroman
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Raman, Sankar (Contributor)