The Yves Project

In the run up to the US elections, we explore legal and illegal immigration, assimilation, the dissemination of information and how the electorate needs to be able to hold both sides of the immigration argument. In today's political climate does confidence, opinion and conviction beat truth, fact and accuracy - or vice versa? And the importance of having compassion in every circumstance, for both migrants looking for a new home as well as existing citizens who are trying to build their lives too. 

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

A conversation with Yves: What happens when your new country doesn’t fulfill the hope you placed in it? How do you overcome poverty as a refugee? Education as a springboard and finding the strength to follow new opportunities. Plus, resurrecting old dreams as a door to another land opens: America.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

A conversation with Yves: An inside look on what it means to cross a country on foot, go undercover with smugglers and doing whatever it takes to seek out a safe place with your family. Plus, the resilience it takes to integrate into a new country and build a new life; for Yves, this was South Africa.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

A conversation with Yves: Yves and Laura’s first direct conversation about his experiences - starting from his escape from the DRC to Malawi and how he got out of the refugee camp in the most courageous way. We also discuss imagination and hope, and how that helped Yves reconcile extreme trauma. 

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

The final chapter from our YVES Script. Little Yves and has family escape through Mozambique to South Africa. But the great possibility of this new country is soon undercut but Little Yves losing faith in his dreams. As he grows up to be college age, he is offered an unbelievable opportunity that can only be realized by the resurrection of hope and his imagination. Meanwhile, Jones begins to understand  his father further, especially as they come face to face with a demonstration at the Texas border that wants to keep migrants out. After arriving in Dallas, Yves is faced with a court room and the ultimate decision. Will he be able to stay in America?

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

The fourth and penultimate chapter from our YVES Script. The Muya family face immense pressure as life in the camp becomes untenable. A death changes everything for Little Yves. Meanwhile, adult Yves and Jones continue their roadtrip, now through Texas. After breaking down, Yves is reminded that the color of his skin will forever be an issue to some people. This brings back memories of some of his darkest moments of his life in Los Angeles.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

The third chapter from our YVES Script. Francois and Jane can no longer hide their emotions from Little Yves, who has heard about a new country called America - where, supposedly, anything is possible. Full of innocent idealism, he decides that he is going to risk his life to sell rice to get them out of the camp. He meets his new best friend, Ami. Meanwhile, adult Yves has to navigate his potential deportation, revealing that his life in the USA has been anything but straightforward.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

The second chapter from our YVES Script. After they flee Zaire, the Muya family make their way to a refugee camp in Malawi and attempt to find their place. Little Yves’ imagination helps him escape the stress and trauma of their new home, while spring-boarding him into new adventures. Adult Yves and his son Jones find themselves in a motel in New Mexico.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

The first chapter from our YVES Script. Yves and his young son Jones are about to embark on a road trip from Los Angeles to Dallas, much to Jones' dismay. When they start the journey, Yves tells Jones about his experiences growing up as a vibrant, imaginative child in the Democratic Republic of Congo and how everything changed when soldiers broke into his house and left his father for dead.

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject

Welcome to The Yves Project podcast! This first episode is a quick overview -- mostly from Laura and a snippet from Yves -- as to why we started the podcast and the subjects we hope to explore over the coming weeks. Created off the back of our movie script that charts Yves' life story, this podcast is an exploration of Yves' incredible experiences as a child refugee in Africa and adult immigrant in the US. We also dive into associated themes of finding purpose and home, facing war and loss, immigration and politics, harnessing imagination and searching for your destiny. 

Hosted by Laura Piety and Yves Muya. Follow us @theyvesproject