Beti

Before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked businesses worldwide, Beti, a refugee from Congo, was already struggling to support her family of four by selling fruit. Beti was recovering from injuries that she’d sustained when she fled to Nairobi, Kenya, from Congo, and was also dealing with the loss of her husband.

Beti’s eldest child, a 15-year-old boy, began to sell melons to support the family, which meant that he could no longer pursue his education. Despite her son’s efforts to help support the family, Beti and her children would often go to bed without a meal. In August 2020, RefugePoint began supporting Beti’s family with food and rent assistance and also helped to enroll the family with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) so that Beti could access the urgent medical treatment that she needed for her injuries.

Beti told us that since receiving RefugePoint support, her life has changed. Her family now eats three meals a day, and her children are happy. Her son was able to return to school and can now focus on his studies. Beti joined a support group to get help with coping with the loss of her husband. She also completed RefugePoint’s Business Development Skills training and received a start-up grant to revive her business.

“Right now, I feel proud and honored, even when I’m with other people. I have a place I can call home that RefugePoint is helping me to pay for. I believe that in the future, our lives will change. I have hope that things will change every day; it won’t ever be the same again,” Beti told us.