Diane
In 2015, Diane was forced to flee from Burundi to Kenya with her three children. Dianeâs husband died during the war that forced them to flee their home, and Diane, far from her family and friends, found herself without a support network in Nairobi. Since Diane wasn’t fluent in Kiswahili…
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Nanziza
In 2016, Nanziza* and her six children were forced to flee their home in the Democratic Republic of Congo when rebels attacked their neighborhood. Nanzizaâs husband was at church at the time of the attack, so Nanziza was forced to flee without him. After more than a month of traveling,…
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Fredric and Dalia
âI have always wanted to change my daughters’ name from Victorie Fredric to Victorie Fredric RefugePoint,â Fredric said, laughing hysterically. âI want to add RefugePoint to her name because if it wasn’t for RefugePoint I don’t know where she would be today. RefugePoint gave us food, rent, money…
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Pierre
In November 2019, Pierre, a RefugePoint client from Nairobi, Kenya, was invited to participate in a week-long training in Sanremo, Italy, which focused on human rights and internal displacement. Before Pierre was forced to flee his home country of Burundi in 2015, he had been working as a community worker…
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Soni
During RefugePointâs business training, clients are encouraged to set personal goals that they can work to accomplish within the first three to six months of launching their businesses. Soni, a single mother of two young children, knew exactly what she aimed to achieve: the ability to pay her rent and…
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Rosine and France
âI always wanted to study, but I didnât have the means. As a single mother of three with no husband, my priorities took a back seat. I was most concerned with putting food on the table. When I expressed my hopes and needs to my case manager, she told me…
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Daniel
“Ever since I was young, I loved education. When I met RefugePoint, they helped me to enroll in my final year of primary school. They hadn’t yet started supporting students to attend high school,” Daniel, an unaccompanied minor from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told us. After Daniel completed primary…
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Chris
âI got the idea to start the barbershop after attending the RefugePoint business training. While I was attending the training, I was challenged and motivated to think outside of the box. I decided to pursue my idea of opening a barbershop.â In April 2018, Chris attended RefugePointâs business training and…
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Moses, Antony, and Vanessa
âRefugePoint gave us medical assistance, and one of the most important things that they provided for us was the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) card. Having that card means that I do not have to pay out of pocket for medical care for my siblings or me when I visit…
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Djamaba
When a community joins together to accomplish a shared goal, great things can happen! Djamaba, a refugee from Congo, suffers from a lung disease and requires breathing support through an oxygen concentrator machine. Due to the high cost, Djamaba could not afford the machine that he needed for his home,…
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Fawzia
âI want to do this interview in Englishâ Fawzia happily stated. âI have been attending English classes, and now I can speak it with no problem,â she told us, smiling. âWhen I arrived to Canada for the first time, I didnât know English. Life was very hard, and the winter…
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Ayantu
It is just after 6:00 a.m., and the gates to Burma market, one of Nairobiâs largest meat markets, are about to open. Throughout the day, over 20,000 people – clients from restaurants, butcheries, and individuals, will descend on the market to buy their meat in bulk. Most of the meat…
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Angelique, Denisa, Marie, and Sephora
âMy personal mantra is âIf you do good, good things will happen to you in the futureâ (âUkifanya mazuri, mazuri yatakutendekea mbeleni.â) Â that is why I take care of the girls,â Angelique told us. In 2014, Angelique arrived to Kenya alone, after fleeing from her home country of Democratic…
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Betty
As an integral part of RefugePointâs program in Nairobi, the counseling team helps to stabilize and empower refugee clients to achieve self-reliance by enhancing their support systems and by strengthening their social networks through individual and group therapy sessions. Group therapy sessions allow members to express themselves in a safe…
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Henri
Many refugees emphasize to us their desire to be self-reliant, and request support to get back to their independent lives in their new homes. Henri* is one such client. Henri completed business training and received a small start-up grant of $200 USD. Henri decided to start a business that none…
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Joseph & Beatrice
âLet me tell you about when I started selling milk. When I started out I would sell only one crate of milk, which would only give me 18 shillings (about 18 cents). I did this everyday and it was discouraging because I had so many children to take care of,…
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Zakuani & Nyantabara
Hitching rides on long-distance trucks, and walking for many miles during the day, our client Zakuani* and his wife Nyantabara*, fled from Congo and arrived to Nairobi, Kenya in December 2014. Zakuani and his family fled Congo due to war waged by MaiMai militia after he witnessed the merciless killing…
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David & Family
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…
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Monica
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 familyâs flight and had to begin supporting her family financially. With two of her children experiencing serious medical conditions, Monicaâs family slept hungry most…
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Yadasa
âMy 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…
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Annalie
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. âWe experienced dire poverty in Kenya – the…
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Mercy
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 RefugePointâs group counseling sessions for women, which she…
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Joy
Joy is a Congolese refugee and former RefugePoint client who was resettled to the U.S. in July 2016. When she became involved in the womenâs movement in her country, Joy and her family were persecuted and Joy was violently attacked. After fleeing to Kenya with her daughter, Praise, RefugePoint assisted…
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Musa
Musa*, age 11, was among the last unaccompanied minors to arrive in the U.S. before the suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, and was certainly one of the last to arrive from such a life-threatening situation. At age 8, Musa was chased from his home in the Democratic Republic…
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Abal
Abal*, a 32-year old refugee, lived in Kenya for four years. Abalâs elder brother was an active member of an opposition group in their country (which we will not name due to ongoing sensitivity). His family was constantly harassed and his father died after being detained. Abal himself was accused…
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