Hiiraan Online

The top-scorer goes to soccer practice for his club Joga FC and watches Manchester United games.

Nine months ago, however, things were a lot different for the 14-year-old from Burundi. Ibrahim spent almost half his life living in a refugee camp operated by the government of Malawi after soldiers killed his father in 2006.

But Africa wasn't all bad. He had a lot of friends there, and they played soccer and swam every day. However, he said, there was a lot of fighting there.

"I think it's better here," Ibrahim said Sunday, "because there's peace here."

Ibrahim and his family are just eight of about 250,000 refugees coming to the United States yearly — a number budgeted by Congress. About 1,200 refugees flee war-torn and violent circumstances to Utah each year.

Half of them are given assistance from Catholic Community Services of Utah, which helps them through the refugee settlement process. The rest are helped by the International Rescue Committee.

"We try as best we can to have all the refugees have volunteers who will be mentoring them, tutoring them, teaching them, for them to learn the basic life skills in America ... to integrate them in the American culture," said Raul Yumul, the volunteer coordinator for the refugee program at Catholic Community Services.

It's normally a 24-month process for them to make it here, and when they eventually do, Catholic Community Services tries to give them the hope and the future that they deserve, he said.

Volunteers get an apartment ready for when the refugees arrive, set them up with a case worker, help them find work and teach them how to do everyday tasks like using the bus system.

"We meet them at the airport, and we set up the apartment ... so when they come, there's food on the table, clean sheets, clean towels or soap ... and then we're just their advocates," said Chris McIntyre, a volunteer coordinator for one ministry. "It's a lifelong friendship."

Both volunteers and refugees gathered at Saint Vincent de Paul Parish for an annual Christmas celebration Sunday afternoon. The volunteers, mostly mentors who help the families transition to life in Utah, enjoyed a meal with the families from places like Somalia, Myanmar, Burundi, Iraq and Bhutan.

Ibrahim sat and ate at a round table with his six brothers and sisters and his mother, Cecilia Nahimana. She came to Utah with her seven children, now ages 7 to 14, in March.

Going to school helps her children learn English, she said, and she's not far behind. English is now her sixth language, after French, Swahili, Kirundi, Chichewa and Kinyarwanda.

Nahimana said she's much happier with her situation now than at the camp and kept a smile on her face, even when she talked about the difficulties she has faced.

"The camp, it was difficult. The food is difficult, clothes, water, everything is difficult to provide. ... (I left) because of the fighting in Burundi and then I ran for Tanzania and then I went to Malawai," she said. "(A soldier) killed my husband and now I'm a widow because he killed my husband in Iran."

Ubah Abdi, who gave a prayer in Arabic at the celebration, is another single mother who came to Utah. She left Somalia with her four children a year and a half ago.

"When we came here it was very hard because the United States and my country are very different. But now I'm learning and I'm doing well," Abdi said. "Before they helped me, Catholic Community Services, but now I can help other refugees."