People from all walks of life come to enjoy the historic halls of the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

While the latest group of visitors now call Central Ohio home, they still proudly display their cultures through their wardrobes, be it from Nepal, Mali, or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

All of them are refugees being assisted by Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS). The independent non-profit organization serves as a resettlement agency, which receives and places refugees on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

The tour of the Supreme Court was one part pleasure ...

“I like [it]. This is a very pretty building .... There are a lot of things we [saw] that we’ve never seen before,” said Kaushila Gajmer, a native of Nepal.

It was also one part business.

“I like to know the history of this country and the building, too,” said Canesius Rwararika, who’s from the DRC. “They showed us around, and they told us everything about the state since Ohio was not even a state.”

Like many of the refugees under the aid of CRIS, Rwararika hopes his resettlement will end by becoming a U.S. citizen.

“In the United States, it’s where you can live free .... You know, you can come from whatever you came from.”