Manana works at Drake University as a cashier and is also a Somalian interpreter at DHS. She enjoys the schedule at Drake because it coincides with her children's school schedule which allows her to spend more time with them.
She was born in Somalia but moved to Kenya with her family at age 5. they were in a refugee camp in Kenya for 18 months and moved together to Des Moines in 1998. Her mother lives nearby and her sons love to go play in her brother's yard. Her whole family is excited about helping her complete her sweat equity hours for the new house.
Manana and her sons, Yackub (6), Ayub (5), Emraan (4), and Ibrahim (1), live in a 2-bedroom apartment where the boys do not have a yard to play in. They have to be very quiet becuase they have a neighbor downstairs who complains whenever they make noise.
They moved into the apartment in Febraury after Manana seperated from her husband while she was pregnant. they had been living with the husband's parents who believed that things should still be done the Kenyan way and Manana disagreed with them about many issues. Manana enjoys the "American way" of doing things and the way that women are treated here. Her husband still checks on them and they are considering a reconciliation.