Georges Budagu Makoko

9 posts

Georges Budagu Makoko is the founder of the nonprofit organization Ladder to the Moon Network and the publisher of Amjambo Africa, a multilingual news organization based in Portland. He was born in Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to Rwanda in 1994, where he graduated from National University of Rwanda in Business Administration. In 2002, he moved to the United States, where he received asylum. He is the author of "Ladder to the Moon: Journey from the Congo to America," about his life story. Budagu speaks six languages, including English, French, and Swahili. He was a senior property manager with Avesta Housing in Maine for 15 years. In 2019, he and a group of friends started Serenity Residential Care, a social and human services organization.

A university graduate wearing a cap and gown walks past other graduates during a graduation ceremony

The importance of family and the costs of a slow asylum process

Joyous college graduations of Maine's immigrant students remind us of the slow reunification process that many families endure.

ByGeorges Budagu Makoko

June 25, 2022

First responders attempt to search the rubble of a building that was attacked during Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The Ukraine war retraumatizes many immigrants who have come to Maine

Georges Budagu Makoko says many of the people who have immigrated to Maine in the last 50 years were fleeing "devastating violence," like that being experienced in Ukraine.

ByGeorges Budagu Makoko

May 8, 2022