Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated where Dayton is VAS Communitylocated in Ohio. It is in the southwestern part of the state. 

Anita Nzigiye grew up in Rwanda, and came to the United States in 2007 “looking for a better opportunity,” in her words. Nzigiye followed a sister who had emigrated to Dayton, a small city in southwestern Ohio. She sought asylum and later became a citizen.

Now she owns the store Ikaze East and Central African Market, in the southeastern part of the city, offering familiar goods from back home to the city’s many African transplants.

Dayton residents “are super welcoming, to be honest,” Nzigiye said. “I have never had an issue with anybody.” It’s not just the people that are nice: jobs are plentiful, even for workers with less than perfect English, she said.

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