RefugePoint

“Let me tell you about when I started selling milk. When I started out I would sell only one crate of milk, which would only give me 18 shillings (about 18 cents). I did this everyday and it was discouraging because I had so many children to take care of, but I strengthened myself and put in a lot of effort. I started multiplying my profit, and now I sell milk with a profit of up to 15,000 shillings ($148 USD). It’s unbelievable to me but I encourage people to stick to their business and persevere, that way they will see the fruits of their jobs.” These are the words of Joseph*, who along with his wife Beatrice*, and nine children, escaped from Congo in 2012 and made their way to Nairobi, Kenya. Four of the children that Joseph and Beatrice began caring for were orphans of war. Arriving in Nairobi as refugees, they encountered enormous challenges. In fact, Beatrice contemplated taking the children back to Congo despite the ongoing war because she felt hopeless in Kenya. After becoming involved with RefugePoint services, including business trainings for both Joseph and Beatrice, the family’s wellbeing improved dramatically. Joseph says, “RefugePoint really helped in regards to business. I was trained on how to start up a business and grow it, how to save, and how to do book keeping. Now I have really grown in business such that my children all go to school. My children are really doing well in school now and even their health is good. Happily, Joseph and his family were recently resettled to the US, where the family will undoubtedly use many of the business skills they learned in Nairobi to succeed in their new home!

*Names changed for anonymity

Hitching rides on long-distance trucks, and walking for many miles during the day, our client Zakuani* and his wife Nyantabara*, fled from Congo and arrived to Nairobi, Kenya in December 2014. Zakuani and his family fled Congo due to war waged by MaiMai militia after he witnessed the merciless killing of his own mother.

Four months after their arrival in Nairobi, Zakuani’s wife, Nyantabara, gave birth to a little girl, Zara*, who suffered from a serious medical condition, which required urgent reconstructive surgery on her colon. The family faced a dilemma of wanting to provide the absolute best care to their newborn baby, but being unable to afford the high costs of such a surgery. After numerous visits to public hospitals, the family was unable to find help. In January, RefugePoint formalized a partnership with the US based NGO Watsi, a crowd-sourced medical funding scheme where clients can connect with donors online in order to get assistance to pay for expensive medical treatments. When RefugePoint heard about Zara’s condition, our medical team flagged the case to Bethany Kids Hospital, Watsi’s implementing partner in Kenya. Zara received the necessary medical intervention and became RefugePoint’s first client to access the program.

With the first surgery completed, Zara is under observation and is scheduled to continue with treatment. “From the bottom of our hearts, we are more than thankful to RefugePoint for their help so far. You’re the only ones who came and saw our girl and were determined to help. We were so happy! We have faith and hope that she will be better because of the love you have shown us as a family. We are sure that when she’s old enough she will come to personally thank you. Thank you so much,” said Zakuani during a RefugePoint check-in visit. In addition to the medical services provided to Zara, RefugePoint conducted business skills training for Zakuani and gave him a small business grant which enabled him to start up a retail business selling African print fabrics called kitenge. Zakuani and his wife Nyantabara are now more peaceful and are able to better support themselves and their family’s needs as a result of their livelihoods activities. The couple works as a team, with Zakuani selling the fabric and his wife tailoring the fabric to create beautiful and fashionable traditional attire.

*Names changed for anonymity

In 2002, after suffering severe torture and violence at the hands of rebels, David* and his family fled the Congo and vowed never to return. After a harrowing journey through Rwanda and Uganda, the family arrived in Nairobi. Initially, life in Nairobi was better for David and his family, but they again feared for their safety after receiving threatening phone calls. In 2005, David’s eldest son disappeared and was never heard from again. Believing that his son had been abducted, David feared the safety of his entire family was at enormous risk. In 2009, unknown men brutally attacked David, leaving him with stab wounds and head injuries. Despite these challenges, David began a tailoring business and his wife began teaching French at a local school, enabling them to support their family. With RefugePoint’s support, David’s wife began attending counseling sessions to cope with post-traumatic stress. David attended a RefugePoint business skills training and received a grant enabling him to expand his business. David now has a contract to sew backpacks for refugee school children. Like many refugees, David and his family worked extremely hard to create a stable life for themselves in Nairobi, but for reasons beyond their control, they remained in danger. In the end, resettlement to a safe country was the best option and with RefugePoint’s assistance, David and his family were resettled to Canada where they are far from the persecution that they painfully remember.

*Name changed for anonymity

Monica*, a single mother of seven, arrived in Kenya as a refugee after fleeing Congo in November 2014. Monica was separated from her husband during the family’s flight and had to begin supporting her family financially. With two of her children experiencing serious medical conditions, Monica’s family slept hungry most nights and they feared eviction, struggling to pay the rent. RefugePoint immediately delivered essential services, including medical care and enrollment in school. With basic needs met, Monica attended a self-reliance and business skills training and received a grant, enabling her to start a “kitenge” fabric business. Monica reported that, “Before receiving the business grant from RefugePoint, I was not able to buy food, shoes, or clothes for my children, but now I can. I also now know how to save money and keep business records because of the training I received from RefugePoint. Now I know how to do business like a professional. RefugePoint helped me so much with treatment for my children. Now, my children are well.”

“The last time we met I didn’t want to talk much about my business because what was disturbing me was my children’s health. Now I can concentrate on my business because you helped them feel better and now I also feel better.” – Monica, RefugePoint Client and Business Owner

*Name changed for anonymity

“My name is Yadasa, and I am a former refugee who was resettled to Australia through RefugePoint. I am from the Ethiopian Oromo community, and I left Ethiopia after facing a lot of political persecution. In 2001, when I fled to Nairobi, Kenya, I was a young university student. In 2003, I got a scholarship and joined a university in Kenya. I got my degree, but I didn’t get the chance to work in Kenya as refugees are not allowed by law to take proper jobs. RefugePoint helped me to resettle to Australia in 2013. Here in Australia, I went to university and studied for a Masters in Nursing. I recently graduated from one of the best Australian universities (Monash University) and I am now working for Alfred Hospital in the cardiac unit, which is a highly complex ward. My message is simple. Thank you for helping me. I have no more worries, no more stress, and no more fear. Here, I am a very happy person. Here, there is no threat against my life, and I am looking forward to starting my Ph.D. very soon. I always want to remain a friend of RefugePoint. Keep me in the circle of people who have made helping other people their life.”

I have no more worries, no more stress, and no more fear. Here, I am a very happy person. Here, there is no threat against my life, and I am looking forward to starting my Ph.D. very soon.

Rose is a refugee from the Congo who has lived in Nairobi, with her three children, for two-and-a-half years. “Initially, my life was quite difficult. I would wake up in the morning, and I did not know where I would get a single cent for the day, or how to get food, or how I could ever send my children to school. It was very difficult for me. But, nowadays, I can say that life is not perfect, but it is not as difficult as before. My kids are now in school. Even if I don’t have the cash right now, I can go and talk to the teacher and tell him that within one week, I will be able to bring the school fees. All of that is because of the business.”

Rose has made remarkable progress in developing her business since completing a RefugePoint business training and receiving her initial grant of $200 USD in August 2016. In November 2016, just months after Rose set up her salon using the RefugePoint grant, the salon was robbed and Rose lost all of her equipment. However, Rose had saved $50 USD. This small amount of savings, along with her determination to succeed, allowed Rose to build a new salon from scratch. Since re-establishing the salon, Rose has learned a few things from her customers, and has adjusted her business approach accordingly. The salon business could not fully support Rose’s needs, so she recently decided to diversify and now also sells second-hand shoes.

“My hope for the future is to grow this business. I would like to have a bigger space where I can stock rings, earrings, chains, bangles, and hair pieces. I also need to buy some good mirrors for the walls and some good drawers to make my business more attractive. There are so many things that I need. But again, I need to restrict my budget, especially my household expenses.

Sometimes the kids will ask me for clothing, but I cannot buy it for them because I also need to invest a lot of money so that I can grow my business,” says Rose. Before receiving the RefugePoint business grant, Rose marketed her hair dressing services informally and made an average of $15 USD per week. Now, with the fixed location and a diversified range of products, she makes an average of $30 USD per week and can provide for her children and send them to school.

“I want to say a special thank you to RefugePoint. They have helped me with food, rent, and to start a business. There was a time that I had felt that the world was ending for me because I had no assistance. But, RefugePoint stepped in to help me, and for that I say a special thank you,” Rose tells us.

Bien is a 30-year-old Congolese man who, fearing for his life in the midst of heavy fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fled his home country and arrived to Nairobi, Kenya in March 2009.

Beginning a new life in the city, without resources or connections was not easy for Bien. However, Bien was proactive and worked hard to start a barbershop business so that he could ensure he had food on his table and a roof over his head.

When RefugePoint met Bien, and saw the tenacity and determination he had, it was evident that his business had the potential for growth and development.

The core mission of RefugePoint’s Livelihoods team is to help refugees start or expand businesses by providing business skills training that will enable them to support themselves, without the need for continued aid. After attending the business skills training with our Livelihoods team, Bien received a business grant, which allowed him to make key improvements to his barbershop, including the purchase of a new barber seat, a stylish shaver and a music system to keep his customers entertained.

Knowing that first impressions are everything in business, Bien hired a creative artist who beautifully painted the barbershop entrance with lively and colorful images, distinguishing his shop from others in the neighborhood. “What you did helped me reach my goal of getting new clients to visit my shop. I thank you and I love you so much RefugePoint. Only a few people get such an opportunity and I love that you considered me. I will do my business daily to make you proud,” said Bien. Since upgrading his business premises, Bien has seen an increase in his sales and he now has new clients walking into his shop every day.

David* leads the RefugePoint Livelihoods team across a hallway in his building to a very small, unlit, and windowless room, filled with cooking smoke. “Before I met RefugePoint, I was here in this single room, with my family of eight – my six children and my wife and I were all in this one room. At the time that RefugePoint identified me, my life began to change. RefugePoint paid my rent and provided me a business grant. RefugePoint also provided food to my family for six months. From that time I was able to rent this new house across the hall, with two rooms. Before I met RefugePoint, it was very hard to get food. My family used to eat once a day, and it was a hardship for us. I was very empowered by RefugePoint when I received my grant, and now I am able to make many clothes. Currently, my family eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Now, I am able to pay for two rooms for my family. I can even pay for the school fees for my children.” David fled from Congo to Nairobi, Kenya with his family when a group of Mai Mai attacked their village, burning houses and killing cows. David’s daughter now suffers from a mental disability as a result of the trauma that the family experienced in Congo. David shows us all of the different orders that he is working on, including a beautiful dress, multiple men’s shirts, and fitting a suit for a young man who is about to be married. While David is speaking to us, his eldest son is busy at the sewing machine, and a young man and a young woman from the neighborhood have come to learn the art of tailoring for themselves. David received his RefugePoint business grant just one year ago, and his business is already flourishing, and the quality of life for his family has greatly improved. As one final comparison, David holds up an old metal iron in one hand and a new electric iron in the other hand, and says: “I used to use this old iron that required charcoal, and now, with the RefugePoint grant, I was able to buy this new electric iron.”

*Names changed for anonymity

When I first came to Kenya I was so withdrawn, I didn’t speak, I had no thoughts of the future. Now I am able to think about the future. Since coming to RefugePoint, that has been the biggest change for me.
– Belvie,* RefugePoint client

Pictured here, a family with whom RefugePoint worked for many years puts their feet together one last time in their home in Nairobi, before embarking on their resettlement journey. The following day this family was resettled, and began a new life together in Canada.

Belvie,* a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, faced many challenges and traumas when she fled to Kenya. When Belvie’s best friend died suddenly and left behind two children, Belvie took them in and cared for them, despite having very few resources. “The children have brought a lot of purpose and drive to my life. When I first took the children in, I never thought I would be able to care for them. But then, I stayed with them, I grew to love them, and I knew I couldn’t let them go. When I first came to Kenya I was so withdrawn, I didn’t speak, I had no thoughts of the future. I was just living. I was just there. Now I am able to think about the future. I am able to think about what I am going to do tomorrow. Since coming to RefugePoint, that has been the biggest change for me.”

Among Congolese families identified for resettlement, one in every three cares for a child who is not their own.

*Name changed for anonymity

To her neighbors in Nairobi, Annalie, a mother of three, is a successful and skilled tailor. However, few know about her struggles as a refugee. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Annalie and her husband fled to Kenya, where they experienced extreme hardship. “We experienced dire poverty in Kenya – the kind of poverty I never imagined existed before. The kind of poverty where we had no mattress, no blankets; our clothes were tattered, and our family was malnourished to a point where the children fell severely ill,” she explains.

As a trained tailor interested in starting a business but lacking the means, Annalie was one of RefugePoint’s first business development clients. With a grant from RefugePoint, she was able to buy a sewing machine in 2011. As she began saving, RefugePoint referred her for an interest-free loan through KivaZip, which enabled her to expand her business even further. Annalie now provides for her family and is saving for the future. She has a stronger feeling of security than at any time in her more than two decades in Kenya. “Business has really helped me. It rescued my family from poverty,” she says.