Actor wins green card lottery, enlists to serve his adopted country

Published Jan. 24, 2014
By Maj. Khalid Cannon
th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Once every two years, 100,000 Kenyan applicants receive a letter notifying them they are qualified to possibly receive a Green Card, which would allow them to become permanent United States residents.

During the next phase, 55,000 are formally considered to receive a diversity visa and are required to pay for a medical exam and inoculations, and are interviewed in Nairobi.

In March 2010 Kevin Yator, who was then an actor on a Kenyan soap opera, received a congratulatory letter from the U.S. State Department notifying him that he received his Green Card; he was one of only 3,000.

"I was in search of better opportunities and my cousin, who was living in the U.S., encouraged me to pursue a track scholarship," said Yator. "She also said I should apply for the visa lottery. So, in 2009 I went into a cyber café and applied."

Prior to coming to the U.S., Yator described his life as "mayhem."

When Yator was a senior in high school his mother passed away, forcing him and his brothers to find places to live because their father was not a constant presence in their lives.

At the time, Kenya was experiencing post-election violence, recalled Yator. Between 2007 and 2008, different tribes fought each other and 3,000 people were killed.

"I moved in with a friend of mine and started theater acting," said Yator. "I began acting on a popular drama series called 'The Team,' which was created in response to all the violence during the elections."

In 2010, the Public Broadcasting Service produced a segment about the series titled, "Soap Opera for Social Change," and reported that The Team was "a show about a co-ed team of young soccer players in Nairobi. They are all from different tribes. And, in Kenya tribe is a very big deal."

Yator and other cast members toured Kenya and had numerous screenings for large groups of young people. At the end of each screening, they held town hall meetings and discussed the show's diversity, unity, and tolerance messages. The show had a TV audience of more than two million viewers, according to PBS.

After moving to the U.S. in 2010, Yator lived with his cousin in the Washington, D.C. area, and worked two retail jobs while also attending college.

At the end of 2011, another cousin who retired from the U.S. Army spoke with Yator about the benefits of enlisting.

"My cousin told me I could go to school and earn money," said Yator. "He also said the Air Force was more career-oriented and there would be more room for growth."

In March 2012, Yator enlisted in the Air Force. The regimented life at his Kenyan boarding school prepared him for basic training, he said.

"It was fun," Yator said simply.

One of his proudest moments was being named honor graduate at the end of his five-month technical school where he learned how to take care of an installation's water utility and sewer systems, as well as fuel infrastructure.

"Growing up in Kenya, I learned humility, patience, and respect. That has really helped me in the Air Force."

Yator is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in corrosion control, and wants to become a petroleum engineer.

In August 2012, now Airman 1st Class Yator became a U.S. citizen. He's currently deployed to the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

"I haven't been back to Kenya since I left, but I plan on traveling there this year with my other cousins who are in the Army," he said.

Yator, who is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., reflected on what his new country meant to him growing up.

"We saw America as a place that was welcoming, where there were opportunities and room to grow."