After resettling in the United States, David Hajayandi set out on his own to find employment without guidance or support for navigating the American job market. He showed up unannounced at a clothing store, but instead of giving him a job application, workers threatened to call the police. Years later, this experience would contribute to Hajayandi’s work creating resources to support other newcomers.
In 1991, when Hajayandi was in second grade, civil unrest forced his family to flee their home in Burundi. His family fled to a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then to Tanzania, where they stayed for 13 years. In 2008, when Hajayandi was 25 years old, his family was approved for refugee status, and upon landing in New York, a refugee resettlement group drove them to an apartment in Allentown.
After his failed attempt at finding employment at the clothing store, Hajayandi continued his job search, but every business turned him away. “I didn’t know much about what life was like in America, but I was surprised it was this difficult,” he says.
Eventually, a local Methodist pastor helped Hajayandi find work washing dishes at a fried chicken restaurant, and he got a second job sorting materials at a recycling center. But when his extended family suggested he join them in Pittsburgh, Hajayandi moved. At first, he cleaned office buildings and hotel rooms. After a few years as the hotel’s driver, he enrolled in trucking school and became a driver for a few different trucking companies. “I was grateful for this job, but I didn’t have much community at the time,” he says.
While shopping and socializing in Pittsburgh, Hajayandi occasionally heard people speaking Kirundi, one of Burundi’s official languages. He began collecting phone numbers and, in 2021, started a WhatsApp group for Burundians in the city. The group officially launched the Burundians Community Association of Pittsburgh, and elected Hajayandi vice president. The group, which has grown from 30 members to over 150, provides a community for Burundians in the city and helps newcomers find work.
“We want Burundians here to know and help each other,” Hajayandi says. “In a country where we don’t know much, we can teach each other.”
