To navigate car-dominated Kansas City, these Congolese refugees teach each other how to drive

Refugees often struggle to get to jobs, school or the store without adequate transportation. But getting a driver’s license in Kansas City is hard enough without the added barriers of a new language and culture. That's where Justin Bilombele comes in.
Justin Bilombele used to go on walks through Kessler Park in northeast Kansas City. It reminded him of scenes he would see when he lived in Africa, just with smaller trees.

Overlooking the city, the historic park is overgrown, with a bumpy, concrete road winding through. It’s not particularly crowded most days — you won’t find many joggers or dog-walkers — which makes it a great place to teach people how to drive.

“We always come here, it’s safe,” Bilombele said. “Everybody comes here”

It’s here that Bilombele taught himself how to drive, soon after he arrived in the city as a refugee nearly 12 years ago. Now he’s passing on the favor to newer refugees.

“We’re kinda like the first Congolese family to be in Kansas City,” Bilombele says. “In some sense, I feel an obligation to teach people who come, just so you don’t have to go through the same issues I had to go through.”