In 2002, after suffering severe torture and violence at the hands of rebels, David* and his family fled the Congo and vowed never to return. After a harrowing journey through Rwanda and Uganda, the family arrived in Nairobi. Initially, life in Nairobi was better for David and his family, but they again feared for their …

Monica*, a single mother of seven, arrived in Kenya as a refugee after fleeing Congo in November 2014. Monica was separated from her husband during the family’s flight and had to begin supporting her family financially. With two of her children experiencing serious medical conditions, Monica’s family slept hungry most nights and they feared eviction, …

“My name is Yadasa, and I am a former refugee who was resettled to Australia through RefugePoint. I am from the Ethiopian Oromo community, and I left Ethiopia after facing a lot of political persecution. In 2001, when I fled to Nairobi, Kenya, I was a young university student. In 2003, I got a scholarship …

Rose is a refugee from the Congo who has lived in Nairobi, with her three children, for two-and-a-half years. “Initially, my life was quite difficult. I would wake up in the morning, and I did not know where I would get a single cent for the day, or how to get food, or how I …

Bien is a 30-year-old Congolese man who, fearing for his life in the midst of heavy fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fled his home country and arrived to Nairobi, Kenya in March 2009. Beginning a new life in the city, without resources or connections was not easy for Bien. However, Bien was …

David* leads the RefugePoint Livelihoods team across a hallway in his building to a very small, unlit, and windowless room, filled with cooking smoke. “Before I met RefugePoint, I was here in this single room, with my family of eight – my six children and my wife and I were all in this one room. …

When I first came to Kenya I was so withdrawn, I didn’t speak, I had no thoughts of the future. Now I am able to think about the future. Since coming to RefugePoint, that has been the biggest change for me. – Belvie,* RefugePoint client Pictured here, a family with whom RefugePoint worked for many …

To her neighbors in Nairobi, Annalie, a mother of three, is a successful and skilled tailor. However, few know about her struggles as a refugee. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Annalie and her husband fled to Kenya, where they experienced extreme hardship. “We experienced dire poverty in Kenya – the kind of poverty I never …

Mercy* received a Livelihoods business grant, which helped her repair a broken grinding machine for use in her peanut butter business. Through this business, Mercy has managed to send her children to school and can afford housing and food. Mercy also attended RefugePoint’s group counseling sessions for women, which she feels has helped her to …

The truck driver covered us with goods so we could pass through the border undetected. We have not seen or heard from our parents or siblings since. – Irene, age 14 At age 14, as Irene* cared for several family members in her village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, she suddenly heard screams and …