From Congo to the US, mother builds new life with York Habitat for Humanity

Nsenga Boka brought her daughter to the United States from Africa over a decade ago. Through hard work and the help of York Habitat for Humanity, she soon will move into a new home of her own.

Nsenga Boka couldn’t see a future for herself and her 6-year-old daughter, Elisee Okenge, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She had completed high school but wasn’t afforded the opportunity to go to college.  

Then her father, who was living in the United States, brought her and Elisee to York, Pennsylvania.  
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Now, over a decade later and with the assistance of York Habitat for Humanity, Nsenga is preparing to help build and then move into a home of her own. Elisee, a Nursing major at York College of Pennsylvania, is excelling in arenas her mother felt unable to enter.  

Overcoming challenges

​Upon arriving in York, Nsenga found a job at a hotel and worked there for four years until a severe health issue left her homebound.  

“I was supposed to stay home because I could do nothing,” she says.  

Following surgery and a slow recovery, Nsenga began working at York College as a custodian, a job she enjoys. She also received her driver’s license and was able to transport her growing daughter to sports and school activities. 

“It’s very difficult for me. I don’t like to drive,” Nsenga says. “Sometimes I’m scared.” 

She worked the night shift, then by day she’d take Elisee to her events. By the time they returned home, Nsenga had to get ready for work.  

“There were times I couldn’t sleep, but I didn’t have a choice but to take care of my daughter,” she says. 
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At the same time, Nsenga was working studiously to earn her U.S. citizenship, a goal she met when Elisee was in high school. That achievement not only secured her own future but granted Elisee citizenship because she was still a minor.  

A home for the future

Throughout her time in the U.S., raising Elisee, learning to drive, and working toward citizenship, Nsenga lived with her father in York. But as he prepared to marry, Nsenga knew it was time to find her own space.  

She learned about York Habitat for Humanity from a co-worker who owned a Habitat house. Intrigued at the prospect of having her own home, Nsenga applied to Habitat’s homeownership program and was accepted. 

Working diligently to put in her required sweat-equity hours at the Habitat ReStore and on home construction sites, Nsenga found joy and learning in the process. Painting walls, cleaning, and learning how to hammer nails into studs and install drywall have stretched her abilities and prepared her for when construction of her home begins.  

For Nsenga, owning a home means more than just having a place to live. It will open the door to bringing her mother from Congo to the U.S. It’s also a legacy for Elisee.  
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“My house, it will be my daughter’s house. That is one of the gifts I’ll give to my daughter one day,” Nsenga says. 

‘They help you help yourself’

While Elisee feels the weight of being the only daughter on her mother’s side with the expectation of excelling in nursing school and even becoming a doctor one day, she is grateful for what she’s been handed.  

“I am very proud of her. She’s been through a lot,” she says of her mother. “Having to see it all was hard, but I’m just proud of the person that she’s becoming and the person that she’s helping me grow into.” 

Nsenga’s experience with Habitat for Humanity has been life-changing. The organization not only has provided her with the opportunity to own a home but has taught her and Elisee invaluable financial skills, such as how to save and invest.  

“They help you help yourself,” Elisee says.  

As Nsenga prepares to begin building her York Habitat for Humanity home, she looks forward to a more stable future.  
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“I never knew that in my life I could have a house,” she says, “but because of Habitat, soon they will call me the owner of my own house.”