Oliver Fon

Oliver Fon is an asylee from southern Cameroon that fled his home because of political conflict. It is called the “Anglophone” crisis because it is an ongoing and current conflict occurring only in the Northwest and the Southwest regions of Cameroon (also known as the English-speaking regions of Cameroon). Oliver had to smuggle himself to Nigeria and fly to Ecuador, in South America, where he  headed north to the United States.  The journey took three months from Africa to the US-Mexico border. He  was detained for almost eight months in immigration detention facilities.  His asylum claim was granted when he was finally released in September of 2016.

In January of 2019, Oliver was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma cancer. He went through eight cycles of chemotherapy, stem cell collections and a bone-marrow transplant. He has been in remission for four years now, healthy and striving.  He always tells his  friends “I am living the American dream.”

Oliver is privileged to work at the African Community Center (ACC) as one of the housing coordinators where he helps to pick up newcomer families from the airport, help them set up their homes, take them to social security for processing, and help them with ESL enrollment.