Inside RefugePoint

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"I take their challenges as my personal challenges. This is my dream job because I get to see people empowered everyday." - Joseph Nyaga, RefugePoint Livelihoods Officer 

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A RefugePoint Protection Unit Officer says goodbye to another refugee family as they prepare to resettle to the United States. 

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RefugePoint livelihoods program helps urban refugees become more self-reliant. Here, Safi* prepares delicious Ethiopian food in her neighborhood. She's proud of how spicy her food is. In her words, "My speciality is preparing green peppers that will make you cry."

With a little help from RefugePoint and Kiva Zip, she's been able to make lots of people happy with her lovely home cooking. 

*Names changed to protect our clients' identity. 

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RefugePoint has a strong partnership with the local city council of Nairobi to strengthen their efforts to create healthier communities. Our Community Health Workers (CHWs) are out and about, sharing critical information to refugees, as well as to the government about the health status of the area. 

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This week, our medical team identified this one-year old Congolese girl with Kwashiorkor, an acute form of childhood protein-energy malnutrition. Our team was able to take the diagnosis and provide emergency food and referrals for this family within 24 hours so that this little girl would receive the nutrition she needs without waiting a moment longer. 

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"Our clients make our office come alive."

- Elizabeth, Protection Unit Officer

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This refugee woman speaks Oromo, Amharic, Kiswahili and English. She also runs a small business making colorful sofa and chair covers. 

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Refugee Writes RefugePoint from Australia

The best part of being in Australia for me is that I have a shot at a better life. I have the chance to pursue my dreams. When I was in Kenya, I didn’t know if I would get food to eat the next day. I used to eat only once a day and live off 30 shillings.*

The advice I would give to another refugee is this: I have learned that life is all about the choices we make in the difficult moments. Those choices determine who we are and what we are. It’s up to us to choose whether we will be taken down or built up. It is not a guarantee that when you are resettled you will have a good life. You work hard for that good life. You might as well start now where you are. You never know.

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An excerpt from a former RefugePoint client's letter to staff post resettlement to Australia. 

*About 25 cents 

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Today I was able to call a client and tell her she had received refugee status. Now she can properly apply for resettlement. She was so happy she started crying on the phone.

- Muli, RP Program Assistant 

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"I was forced out of school in Ethiopia. It makes me so excited that my children actually have access to education. Thank you."

-- RP Client (on the educational support he receives for his children) 

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"I have been so worried about this family. The mother was suffering from TB during her pregnancy and was severely emaciated. You wouldn't have recognized her. Now, the baby is a healthy 4 month old and the mother is just fine. Stories like theirs is what motivates me to wake up every morning." 

- RefugePoint Nurse 

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Where is my mother?

"I have decided that I will always be calm. For those who treat me like garbage, I will show them I can be the better person. In the future, I will be an author and write storybooks for them. I will not care if they call me refugee. I will show them in school I am capable of doing something good which will make everybody admire me for who I am.  My teachers will see a different person. They will see the clever person who they always say is very stupid and foolish. I will always do something good so that wherever my mother is, she will feel proud of me and know that she has a daughter who will make her name to be known to the whole world. I will never feel pity about myself and I will have the courage to face any situation.  I will start writing my story and it will be the first storybook that I will produce. I will make sure that it is called Where is My Mother? I will show all the enemies of mine that even a refugee can do something.  My father will always be proud of me and feel that he has a daughter who can rebuild the nation and keep Congo a better place and a peaceful country." 

- 14 year old refugee and aspiring writer. 

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A child depicts her life story as following an ever constant river of war or 'vita.' 

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"We are sorry for what happened at Westgate. We are against all terrorism. Yesterday when I was donating my blood, I also saw two other two refugees for donating theirs as well..."

- RP Client

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Kenya's 'Little Mogadishu' fears backlash after Shabaab attack

NAIROBI (Reuters) - In the shabby Little Mogadishu quarter of Kenya's capital, Somalis feared the militant attack on a Nairobi shopping mall could trigger a violent backlash against them.

Eastleigh, where many of our Somali clients live, is quieter than usual. Refugees in this area have told us that they're afraid of leaving their homes, fearing prejudice against them or much worse. "It seems as though violence has been following us," said one client. 

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"I am not worthy to be in this world."

At a counseling session this week, a refugee woman spoke these words to her peers.

RefugePoint clients are some of the world's most vulnerable refugees. Our counseling program aims to empower refugees to work beyond their trauma and suffering and to begin to see themselves as an agent of potential and power. 

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"Anything my family can do to help other refugees, we will. We want to help, just like you are helping us."

-RP Client