From family tragedy to
WRESTLING TRIUMPTH By Tony Bellissimo
L
ong Beach loves a hero. The city got one in the guise of Dunia Sibomana, who came to the United States in November, 2015 for surgery. A native of Congo, in Central Africa, he had been attacked by several wild chimpanzees as he and two family members played near Virunga National Park near his hometown. His family members were killed but Duniua, then 6, survived but was left with life-altering facial injuries. His lips were torn off, his cheek was lacerated and he suffered muscle damage that made it hard to swallow or talk. Dunia underwent more than a dozen surgeries, the first in 2016 at Stony Brook University's Children's Hospital to restore his appearance and facial functions. Since he came to Long Beach, his fellow students, teachers and neighbors rallied around him. And now he’s found a home here, where he truly has settled in. And has captured the attention of the city. During a Sunday afternoon in early February, at Nassau Community College, Dunia, an eighth grader, captured the Nassau Division I 102-pound title with a LIVING IN LONG BEACH - 2022-2023
14-2 major decision over Massapequa’s Carlos Arango. The Long Beach City Council presented him with a plaque and he got a standing ovation from members of the crowd at City Hall at a February ceremony. The Long Beach Police Department also got involved, giving Dunia on a tour of the station house with Police Commissioner Ron Walsh. Duia had never entered a classroom or spoken English until his first host, Jennifer Crean, enrolled him in a Hauppauge school a month before his initial surgery. Now he is an Honor Roll student at Long Beach 48
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