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President Biden Raises the Refugee Ceiling to 62,500
Today President Biden signed an Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions and raised the ceiling to 62,500 for this fiscal year. This welcome and necessary step dramatically changes the 15,000 resettlement number that the former President had put in place for 2021, which effectively shut America’s doors and discriminated against refugees in Africa and the…
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RefugePoint’s Statement on President Biden’s Presidential Determination Maintaining the Lowest Resettlement Quota in the Program’s History
Today President Biden walked back his commitment to increase refugee resettlement for 2021. At the start of his administration, President Biden announced that he would increase the U.S. resettlement quota to 62,500 this year, citing grave humanitarian concerns around the world, and the importance of U.S. leadership in supporting refugees at this pivotal moment in…
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Measuring the Impacts of COVID-19 on Refugee Households
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a global loss of lives and livelihoods, from which the world is only now beginning to recover. In Kenya, the pandemic, and related restrictions on movement, have had a devastating impact on the lives of urban refugees, many of whom depend upon informal work for survival. In an effort to…
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Empowering Refugee Youth with Life Skills
Early morning showers bring the usual confusion on the busy Kayole Spine road, with matatus (vans commonly used for public transport in Nairobi) and buses aggressively angling for space in the long line of vehicles headed towards Nairobi’s Central Business District. Heavy rain turns small dusty pathways into thick mud between the densely packed apartments…
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RefugePoint Distributes Smartphones to Clients
In January 2021, we distributed 300 Samsung smartphones to our core clients as part of an effort to ensure that clients have equitable access to information and can connect with RefugePoint for remote support. The smartphones will help clients communicate with RefugePoint for remote services such as training, counseling sessions, business support, and telemedicine appointments.…
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Supporting Our Clients On Their Self Reliance Journey
My name is Muli, and I work as a social worker at RefugePoint. Social workers are the coaches in the case management process here at RefugePoint. Our roles include assessing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating actions required to meet our clients’ health and human services needs. One of the most significant moments in my work…
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Empowering Urban Refugees with Business Skills
RefugePoint’s Livelihoods program aims to enable urban refugees to achieve greater self-sufficiency and a better quality of life. Our Business Development Skills (BDS) training empowers our refugee clients with the necessary skills to run a successful business in the harsh business climate of Nairobi, Kenya. The training is a critical component of RefugePoint’s Livelihoods program…
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Fostering Refugee Financial Inclusion
Access to financial services, like bank accounts, helps refugees to cope with shocks, reduces exposure to risk, and stimulates local economies. This enables refugees to become self-reliant and productive members of society who contribute towards economic development. Access to bank accounts not only gives refugees a safe place to keep their money, but it also…
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BREAKING NEWS: RefugePoint Celebrates President Biden’s Approval of an Executive Order to Restore the US Refugee Admissions Program
Today, RefugePoint is celebrating President Biden’s announcement of his intention to begin rebuilding the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and to raise the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program cap from 15,000 to 125,000 people during his first full year. The renewal of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program will mean that refugee parents will finally have an opportunity to…
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RefugePoint’s 15th Anniversary Refugee Stories