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The friends Bill Clinton left behind in Africa

Life in Tanzania's refugee camps

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Run or Hide? Seeking Refuge in Tanzania

Status: Reporting in progress

See dispatches from the field here

Photos by: Mary Wiltenburg/copyright Christian Science Monitor

Photo by: Mary Wiltenburg/Christian Science Monitor

When Bill Clinton Hadam’s refugee family was approved for resettlement in the U.S., the boy's parents faced a "Sophie's Choice" dilemma: him or his sister. After escaping slaughter in Congo and Rwanda, the family waited in a Tanzanian camp for nearly a decade. Rape was common there, and Bill's teen sister Neema was a victim. Afterward, she ran away. Her mother and stepfather felt helpless to search for her, since leaving the camp risked arrest and jeopardized their chances of a permanent home.

So in 2006, her parents made the agonizing choice to board a plane for Atlanta, leaving Neema behind.

This year, reporter Mary Wiltenburg has been following 9-year-old Bill, his family, and their American life, in an award-winning series for The Christian Science Monitor. Now, thanks to the Pulitzer Center, the Little Bill Clinton series travels to Tanzania: to meet Neema, living with her 4-year-old son in an urban slum and desperate to reunite with her parents and brothers, and to visit refugee camps where her family’s friends face uncertain futures as the country expels hundreds of thousands of refugees.

This project is part of the Pulitzer Gateway Women, Children and Crisis, an interactive educational portal that helps tell the stories of adversity and crime faced by women and children across the world. Women, Children and Crisis also includes reporting from Pulitzer projects Iraq: Death of a Nation?, Ghana's Kayayo: Reaching for a Better Life, Nepal: Olga's Girls, The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Eastern DRC, and Scars and Stripes: Liberian Youth after the War. Join the conversation by sharing your story about women and/or children in conflict. Learn more about the Pulitzer Center's Global Gateway.