The Lost Boys of Sudan
Who Were the Lost Boys of Sudan? In the mid-1980s, civil war erupted in Sudan. Government-backed militias launched brutal attacks on villages in southern Sudan, killing numerous civilians. Thousands of...
At RefugePoint, refugee-centeredness is a core value that shapes how we design programs, make decisions, and measure our own progress. Because we can’t credibly assess how refugee-centered we are without hearing directly from the people we serve, we partnered with 60 Decibels to produce the Refugee-Centeredness Barometer. This structured listening initiative gathered feedback from 211 RefugePoint clients—refugees and members of host communities living in Nairobi, Kenya—on the services they receive, their experiences with our staff, and where they want to see us grow.
What we heard affirmed a great deal. It also gave us a clear road map for doing better. Here’s what our clients told us:
The most important measure of any refugee-centered program is whether the people it serves feel their lives are actually changing for the better. On that front, the Barometer findings are compelling.
9 in 10 respondents say our services help them achieve their goals. 83% say their quality of life has improved because of the services they are receiving from RefugePoint. 64% say the quality of services has improved over time.
Perhaps most striking: 74% of respondents said RefugePoint is their only source of humanitarian support, and for women in our programs and clients in our self-reliance program, that figure is even higher (84%).
These findings highlight that RefugePoint’s holistic and refugee-centered services fills critical gaps in the patchwork of services available to refugees in Nairobi. For most of our clients, the absence of other forms of support makes this work all the more urgent, and their trust in us is something we take seriously.
Click to expand and learn more about our Self-Reliance Runway.
We were moved to learn that nearly all respondents (96%) feel that they are treated with respect and dignity by our staff, either always or most of the time. Equally, 88% reported that staff are trained to be sensitive to trauma and emotional needs, and 87% reported that services are designed with mental health and well-being in mind.
These numbers reflect years of intentional investment in trauma-informed practice. They also reflect the relationships our clients and staff have built together—grounded in trust, patience, and genuine care.
“It’s the little things their staff does that show me they understand. At the front desk, they welcome you with warmth; there is no judgment, just a quiet understanding. You don’t feel like you’re just another problem to be solved. When you’re sharing something difficult, they don’t rush you or look uncomfortable. They just listen, patiently. That empathy makes all the difference.” — Female refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Refugee-centered programming depends on genuine two-way communication. The Barometer shows that our clients largely feel heard: 82% know how to provide feedback to RefugePoint, 97% feel comfortable being fully open and honest when they do, and 84% believe we take their feedback seriously and act on it.
At the same time, only 58% say they’ve seen changes to services communicated back to them based on their feedback. That gap matters to us. Listening is only half of the loop; closing it means consistently reflecting back to our clients what we heard and what changed. We’re actively working to improve in this area, including through more regular phone and text communication, expanded community-based outreach, and better use of platforms like WhatsApp.
Members of refugee-led organizations (RLOs) participate in peer-to-peer learning groups at RefugePoint’s office in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Diana Karua, RefugePoint
In addition to refugee participation, supporting refugee leadership is central to being truly refugee-centered. The Barometer shows that 73% of respondents feel they can participate in decisions about the services they receive. RefugePoint is also engaged in leadership strengthening work across Kenya and globally, from supporting refugee-led organizations to elevating refugee voices in international policy spaces.
But our direct-services clients in Nairobi want more, and they’re specific about what that looks like. Fewer than half (42%) feel that RefugePoint does enough to train and support refugees to take on leadership roles. They’re asking for:
We hear this feedback, and it will shape how we plan and invest going forward, including through expanding the leadership strengthening work RefugePoint does across Kenya and globally, from supporting refugee-led organizations to elevating refugee voices in international policy spaces.
“Before, I didn’t know how to get a doctor or anything, but with their help, I can actually get healthcare… I also know more about my rights and what kind of help is out there, which makes me feel more hopeful. Even on the hard days, I feel like I can handle it better. I don’t feel like I’m by myself in this.” — Female refugee from Ethiopia
The Refugee-Centeredness Barometer serves as a compass to guide our future planning at RefugePoint. The findings affirm that our programs are reaching people, navigating serious gaps in support, and genuinely improving lives. They also illuminate where the gaps between our intentions and our clients’ experience persist:
We are grateful to every client who participated in this survey. Their willingness to speak honestly is itself an act of partnership. It’s exactly the kind of collaboration that makes refugee-centered programming real rather than aspirational.
We’ll continue to share what we hear and what we’re doing about it, with another barometer report likely in early 2027.
Note: Interviews were conducted by phone in late 2025, with a response rate of 70%. The sample included clients in our direct service programs in Nairobi, including the Urban Refugee Protection, Resettlement, Family Reunification, and Labor Mobility programs.
Learn more about our self-reliance program in Nairobi by clicking here.
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