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Once refugees, family now calls Glendale home

Humanitarian crisis forces Bijendes to flee, and West Valley welcomes them ‘with open arms’

Glendale’s newest neighbors, in a newly built home just a few blocks away from Historic Downtown, look like an ordinary family at first glance.

Dad, Gabriel Bijende, wears a sharp suit. Mom, Nyirarukundo Bijende, in the face of triumph, has time for a joke. Two teenage daughters who are as ready for school as they are to hold their young nephews and nieces.

The family is all smiles as they move into their new home to begin a new chapter.

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