Coloring Books Spark Literary Success for Refugee Teen

Asifiwe Shema, a student at Aiken New Tech High School, has achieved remarkable success by publishing three books and designing a coloring book for a United Nations group. His journey began when he arrived in the United States from Burundi speaking Swahili and French, but not English.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shema found an innovative way to learn English. His fourth-grade teachers provided coloring books that paired words with pictures, which he used in a makeshift garage classroom to steadily improve his language skills. This experience formed the basis of his memoirs.

His first memoir, "Unexpected Change," recounts his family's migration to the U.S. under the Refugee Admissions Program. His second, "Unexpected Growth," focuses on his experiences at Roselawn Condon school and during the lockdown months, where he transformed learned words into poems. These were published through a local nonprofit that supports immigrant and refugee students.

Shema's published work led to an invitation to create the coloring book "Ohio Is My Second Country" for the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. He illustrated 19 pages, drawing inspiration from his diverse friends and family, and included captions in 15 languages. For this project, he was compensated $1,000.

Beyond his writing, Shema is active in various school programs, including the Future Farmers of America club. He recently shared his story with current fourth-graders, emphasizing how coloring books and dedicated learning helped him overcome language barriers and become a leader.