A step at a time, refugee family adjusting well to life in Lowell

Seven months after relocating to Lowell, a Ugandan refugee family is settling in nicely to their new home. Some members include Dusenge Tuyishime, 15, top, and from left, Sarah Nyiramana, 7, Maria Uwimana, 16, and mother Vanisi Uzamukunda, 43. SUN/Amaris Castillo

A step at a time, refugee family adjusting well to life in Lowell

LOWELL — Seven months ago, the family of seven arrived in Lowell. Their new environment was vastly different from the Ugandan camp they left behind and, with help from a resettlement agency, began building a new life here.

Last week, Sendegeya Bayavuge, the patriarch of the family, mother Vanisi Uzamukunda, 43, and their children sat down again with The Sun in their Centralville home to share details of what life has been like so far in Lowell. Once sparse, their tidy living room was filled with a couch and mismatched chairs, while a computer sat on a corner table for the children to work on homework.

Quite a lot has changed since the family was first interviewed on a cold, wintry day in February.

Sendegeya, 52, is working full time.