until GivingTuesday

Most days, Dieudonne wakes up early to begin shuttling passengers around the streets of Nairobi on his motorcycle. To provide for his family, he works as a “boda boda” driver (a motorcycle taxi). Today, he is able to pay rent, buy groceries, and cover his children’s school fees with his earnings. But that wasn’t always the case.

As a refugee living in Kenya with a family of nine, meeting his family’s basic needs was challenging. Dieudonne and his wife were forced to flee their home in Burundi when war broke out, leaving the lives they knew behind. “When I got here in Kenya, life became difficult because when you get here, first, you are a refugee,” he told us.

In order for Dieudonne and his family to reach a point of self-reliance where they could meet their own basic needs, RefugePoint first provided services that helped them find safety and stability. “Lilian (RefugePoint staff) came and we spoke with her. She listened to us. They supported our family with education and counseling. The kids started eating well. We were given lots of food and the kids had enough.”

Next, Dieudonne partnered with RefugePoint’s livelihoods team and decided he could make a good living as a boda boda driver. With additional business training and a small business grant, Dieudonne was able to purchase a motorcycle, as opposed to leasing one. Soon, he began saving his daily earnings – Dieudonne’s progression is what RefugePoint refers to as a “pathway to self-reliance.”

Anthony grew up on the small island of Idjwi on Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He left home to pursue a healthcare career, attending college near the capital of the Congo and eventually earning a diploma in nursing. After working in hospitals around the country, Anthony moved back home to open his own clinic on the island. “Life was good,” Anthony told us. He had a plot of land, and his clinic was doing well until one day, a group of men from another tribe attacked him.

After this incident and increasing violence between the Tutsi and Havu tribes in the DRC, Anthony was forced to leave his home and arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. As a refugee, he lived in precarious conditions while working part-time in various clinics, affording rent became a constant struggle.

In 2018, Anthony applied to the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), a program that helps skilled refugees immigrate to Canada. Two years later, he received a job offer through the EMPP to become a continuing care assistant at a nursing home in Nova Scotia. The EMPP was designed to help Canadian employers find qualified applicants while allowing refugees to rebuild their lives in a safe, new country. RefugePoint supports this program by identifying skilled and experienced refugees like Anthony and helps with the application process, language training, and more.

Alice and her sisters were celebrating their father’s birthday when their lives changed forever. While sitting down to eat dinner, a rebel group known as the Mai-Mai attacked. “After they killed my dad and my sister, they took the remaining girls, four of us sisters… When they captured girls, they would take them to the mountains to perform unthinkable acts on them.”

Alice was held captive in the Mai-Mai mountain camp with her sisters for over two months. Finally, the women got an opportunity to escape and took it. “They chased us. We ran, falling down and kept running.” After escaping the camp, Alice and her two children fled from their home country, first to Uganda and then to Nairobi, Kenya, where they hid in the trunk of a car with luggage piled on top to conceal themselves.

However, their journey to safety didn’t end there. Even in Nairobi, Alice and her son faced ongoing violence and insecurity. Alice was attacked again. Since they could not live safely in the city, RefugePoint submitted the family’s case for resettlement. In 2022, her case was accepted for resettlement in Australia. “My expectations when I get to Australia… I’ve always wanted to own a business. I’ll set up a business and I’ll be happy… You know I didn’t go to school, that’s why I want my son to get educated.” Today, Alice and her son are awaiting his Australian visa, with hopes of being resettled soon.

“I want a good life for my kids,” Mary told us. A simple wish; but the violent conflict in Mary’s home country of South Sudan made this incredibly difficult. When war broke out between North and South Sudan, the family fled to Kenya and found relative safety in Kakuma Refugee Camp, but the conditions were challenging. Today, the arid camp is home to over 150,000 refugees.

When South Sudan experienced a moment of peace, Mary returned home, only to be forced away again after the violence resumed. This time, Mary and her family sought refuge in Nairobi, Kenya. As a foreigner arriving in the large capital city, Mary struggled to find work and a place to live. “Sometimes it hurts just to remember the state I was in,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Around this time, Mary began receiving support from RefugePoint, transforming her life from one focused on survival to one of stability. Mary received food, rent support, and school fees for her children and eventually began attending business training sessions. When Mary finished her training, RefugePoint provided her with a small business grant, which she used to open her own restaurant.

Today, she’s paying rent, bills, and school fees with her earnings from the restaurant. Her kids eat the delicious meals she prepares while she and her employees serve their guests. “I will work so that tomorrow they will have a future like other kids…They are really doing well in life.”