Jeanne

My name is Jeanne, and I’m a widow. I’m a mother of five children, two boys and three girls. I’m a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Back in my home country, I was a farmer, and I also took care of my children. My husband reared livestock; we were all well because we had enough land for farming and cattle for our family.

I left my home country because of the war. We were attacked at night and had to escape. As we headed out, my husband told me to go ahead with the children. He went back to check on our cattle so that the attackers would not take them. Unfortunately, he never came back. I was informed by my fellow refugees that he was attacked and killed on the spot.

We kept moving from one place to another, and sometimes we would even return to our village when things were calm. After my husband was killed, I left my home village for Uvira, and then we proceeded to Nairobi. When I came to Nairobi for the first time, life was not easy because I had lost my husband, who was my family’s breadwinner. Upon arrival, I spent a few days in a church.

After staying there for a while, a woman who lived next to the church approached me and suggested that I join her in the market, where she was working. She had seen me struggling to support my family and offered to help. Together, we purchased food items for sale in the market and shared the same stall. We would each contribute to paying the monthly rent for the stall.

Unfortunately, I fell ill and was unable to continue with my work. During that period, I sought help from RefugePoint. By God’s grace, I was considered, and that’s when I started receiving help from RefugePoint.

Before I met RefugePoint, my life was so hard because I could not provide all of my children’s needs; I could not pay my house rent for three months. RefugePoint assisted our family with food for nine months, house rent for six months, and providing bedding for my children.

RefugePoint also trained me in running a business, and I was given a grant to start my own business. Immediately after I received the money, I started a business selling vitenge (African fabric) and soaps. I rented my own house, which was hard before, and I can now provide for my children’s needs.

I thank RefugePoint for their assistance to my family. I advise my fellow refugees to work hard with determination so that they may depend on themselves.

I’m now working for myself, selling vitenge and soaps on the street. One of the challenges I’m facing is that my clients want to know where my shop is located so that, in the future, they may not struggle to find me.

I usually provide my clients with my contact information so that when someone wants to purchase goods, they can call me, and I will deliver according to their requests. One thing that gives me joy is remembering where I was and where I am today. Back then, I couldn’t wake up without worrying about what I would feed my children, but nowadays, my children get food on time with little struggle.

Before the business training, I didn’t know how to separate capital, interest, expenses, and savings. I used to mix all my money, and in the end, I couldn’t tell if I was earning a profit or not. However, after the training, I can evaluate my business and even determine if it is doing well or not. Above all, as I have mentioned, I can manage my money effectively. I understand the importance of savings, and my records can track my progress.

According to my understanding, self-reliance means working hard until I can depend on myself and provide for my family. Before I met RefugePoint, I was unable to pay my house rent on time due to the challenges mentioned above. Several times, my house was locked because I lacked money, and my children would spend nights without food to eat. Now I can take my children to school; one of them attends boarding school, while the others attend day school.

What makes me happy is that I have food to feed my children, my family will never lack house rent, and I can pay school fees for my children. This gives me the courage to work hard. My hope for tomorrow is to own a shop so that people can find me without struggle.