Henri

Many refugees emphasize to us their desire to be self-reliant, and request support to get back to their independent lives in their new homes. Henri* is one such client. Henri completed business training and received a small start-up grant of $200 USD. Henri decided to start a business that none of our other clients had ever attempted to do before – he wanted to peel, cut, and package mixed vegetables to sell as a convenience item. Unlike items like fabric, second-hand shoes, or quick-selling things like tea, our Livelihoods team wondered if the demand for such a product, which spoils quickly, would succeed. Every day, at three in the morning, Henri walks to the local market to buy vegetables, including carrots, beans, and eggplant. The journey to the market takes Henri three hours. He makes much of the trip in the dark in unsafe sections of the city, but he has arranged to walk each day with a group to ensure greater protection.

With his wife, Henri prepares and packages the vegetables in small plastic bags sealed with wax from a candle. Once prepared, Henri walks around his neighborhood and sells the packaged vegetables to schools, households, offices, hotels, and restaurants. Henri has a diverse group of clients, including people from Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya.

When he began his business, Henri used to sell five bags of vegetables per day. Each bag of vegetables sells for about 50 cents. Now, just a few months later, Henri sells 50 bags each day and he is not able to meet demand for his product. Henri is hopeful that he will soon be able to hire others so that he can keep pace with the demand.

*Name changed for anonymity