Jeremias & Valeriana Bandwa
 Jeremias and Valeriana Bandwa have endured the hardship of being refugees for over thirty years. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in August 1997. Angolan (Umbundu) Storyteller and basket weaver "At weddings, if there is a newborn baby, anytime, that’s when we sing. I want my grandchildren to know their culture, Umbundu culture." Jeremias Bandwa was born in the Huambo province of central Angola, the heart of the Ovimbundu region. As a young boy, he sat with the men of the village and listened to their stories and songs. In time, he could recite many of the stories himself. He married Valeriana Sapi Tanganyika in 1947. She was born in Saviye, Angola. They met at the Donde Bela Vista Mission Hospital. After completing their medical training, the Bandwas worked in rural clinics. In 1966, the Bandwas fled from their war-torn homeland to Zaire, and later they moved to a refugee camp in Zambia. In 1990, the Bandwas came to Portland. Here, the Bandwas tell stories to their extended family. "Our children will know Angola from our explanation and from what they saw the people do back home". —Jeremias Bandwa "You children are studying. . . but in your studies, don’t only follow the machines, use your minds and your hands, so wherever you go you can get along without machines."—Valeriana Bandwa
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