Being a Black woman in the US.

After fleeing conflict in Liberia as a child, Lourena Gboeah describes how she now draws on her own experiences in her career as a leading refugee advocate.

Every night before bed, Lourena Gboeah and her four-year-old daughter, Moriah, read stories together. During the Black History Month in February, they have focused on books by African American authors.

Moriah's favourite is Max and the Tag-Along Moon about a boy and his grandfather,?by author and illustrator Floyd Cooper, 'We read books based on self-love, so that as she grows, not only does the reading enhance her vocabulary, but it also helps her to just appreciate and love herself even more,' Lourena said.

February in the United States is Black History Month, which honours the contributions and sacrifices of Black Americans, and their role in shaping the country.

For many refugees of African descent in the US, Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the journey that forced them to flee their homelands, and on their lives in the US.

"When we talk about being a Black woman here in America, especially for me, being a former refugee, I always think about how hard I had to fight to get to where I am today,' said Lourena, a social worker and chairperson of the board of the US-based advocacy group, Refugee Congress.

As a young girl in Buchanan, Liberia, Lourena enjoyed trips to the park on Sundays to watch soccer games and performances of traditional dance. But after the First Liberian Civil War broke out in 1989, her life quickly changed.

The joyful shouts at pick-up soccer games were replaced by gunshots during massacres carried out by the warring sides. Those who dared to continue dancing were seen by rebels as being 'happy' for opposition forces, and so they, too, lost their lives.

'We were getting really terrified,' said Lourena's mother Martha Gboeah, who escaped with her eight children after rebel groups threatened the family.

Fleeing home

Lourena and her mother and siblings were among 750,000 people who fled their homes during the war, which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands more.

The family fled to Cote d'Ivoire, where they lived for two years before being resettled to Staten Island, New York, in 1992, to reunite with Lourena's father. As a four-year-old, Lourena was excited at the idea of sandwiches and ice cream. Her mother found joy in working and taking care of her family.

'The first thing that was really amazing was to have work,' Martha said. 'In Liberia...