EMPOWER REFUGEE WOMEN AND YOUNG MOTHERS

Refugee women and young mothers in Kakuma refugee camp lack employable skills and this prevents them from contributing to the family income often resulting in domestic violence by male members of the family. There is Hope Africa (THA) was established to support these women and their children to move towards a better life. The first phase of the program is training in hairdressing which began in 2019. In the future, a tailoring skills training program will be added. In addition, a micro-loan program for trainee graduates will help them start their own businesses.

Demand for such services is great in Kakuma camp where over 300,000 refugees live and very few services are available. Globally, refugee women need job skills they can use within their local communities. This will lead them out of poverty and move them towards a sustainable future. Reduction in domestic violence is also a result.

According to research by the Kakuma office of the UNHCR, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) are major threats for many women and young mothers in the camp. Many women and girls are vulnerable  and become victims because of their lack of status within the family and community. There is Hope Africa (THA) decided to step in by providing vocational training skills in hairdressing and tailoring to the most vulnerable refugee women and young mothers in Kakuma refugee camp to reduce the cases of SGBV in Kakuma refugee camp. According to a 2017 UNHCR report, "Preventing sexual and gender-based violence requires changes in gender relations and power dynamics within the family and community such as socially prescribed roles, responsibilities, expectations, limitations, and opportunities assigned to individuals based on their gender". THA's vocational programs empowers women with skills to upgrade their status in the family and community. In addition, there are no daycare facilities in Kakuma camp. Trainees need a safe place for their children to be cared for while they are in the daily training sessions. Daycare is a necessity in the camp if women are going to improve their status and be able to work. 

Empowering women and young mothers by providing professional vocational  training and micro-loans to start their own businesses upon graduation from the program. 

Our solution advocates for gender equality by promoting vocational skills training for refugee women and young mothers in Kakuma refugee camp. Specifically, vocational training skills in hairdressing methods, so they are able to use those skills to become entrepreneurs able to provide for the family and bring food to the table. Thus, they are now respected and valued in their respective families and communities.

The training includes:

straightening and relaxing hair services, hair design, making wigs and hairpieces, applying chemical reformation techniques to enhance hair designs, designing and applying creative long hair designs, communicating in the workplace, safety procedures, performing chemical curling, applying over-comb techniques, shampoo and basin services. 

THA established a daycare program to provide support and protection for the trainees' children after noticing children were being left at home or accompanying their mothers. The program has five female staff including three professional teachers, two vocational instructors, and two cooks. Every child has an opportunity for indoor and outdoor play facilities, training in crafts and hobbies. The cooks prepare a fresh, balanced meal for them every day.

Our primary beneficiaries are the most vulnerable refugee women and young mothers in Kakuma refugee camp. We are committed to providing them with skills that are needed in the Kakuma camp community that enable them to become self-reliant and participate in the development of their families and communities. Since THA founders are also refugees in Kakuma, we have first-hand knowledge of what businesses are in demand at the camp. Based on this knowledge, we are able to provide professional trainers in vocational skills that support these business opportunities. Micro-loans will help them establish become entrepreneurs once they graduate from the training program. 

As many women and girls are considered to be a burden in refugee communities because the majority of them are jobless, the skills they acquire enable them to be self-employed. They are able to achieve their dreams and become more independent. Also, their growing independence and rise in social status raises their self-worth and self-esteem in the community and in their households. In fact, it has led to fewer cases of violence in the home. It also leads to higher economic levels which are a problem in the camp where the majority of refugees live in poverty. 

The problem we're tackling is about women and girls facing harassment, domestic violence, and early marriage because they are not valued in their households and communities. They are considered a burden; many men in Kakuma refugee camp think their wives are useless and weak, so they take advantage of that. There is Hope Africa (THA) have designed a solution of providing vocational training such as hairdressing which empowers many women and girls to become self-sufficient and respected by their family members. They can now become part of the positive change and development in their households and communities within the camp. 

What makes our solution the best or different from others, first and foremost, is THERE IS HOPE AFRICA is a community based organization led by refugees in Kakuma camp. We know the problems of refugees in the camp better than anyone else because we are also refugees. Solutions by international organizations are less efficient and more vulnerable to failure because they aren't grassroots. For example, our competitors are international organizations such as NRC and Swiss Contact. Unfortunately, all of these organizations have failed to deliver the best service to the women and young mothers because they did not understand the real need of the refugee community in Kakuma camp and how to serve them better. For that reason, in the middle of the training, all the activities were stopped. The community members (refugees) were shocked because they did not expect international organizations to fail in such a way. Once they left, the women were again without the necessary training to prepare them for entrepreneurial opportunities. In order to change, refugees themselves must be empowered with the skills and knowledge to improve their status.

We provide refugees in the camp with skills that can be used as soon as the trainees graduate. Our trainers are also refugees as well as the staff of the daycare, so the program is creating employment opportunities for the camp community. The training is an innovative and grassroots, local solution to a significant problem of lack of female empowerment which leads to SBGV in the camp.

The THA solution uses standard equipment for hairdressing techniques updated through the use of Wi-Fi to enable our trainers and trainees to discover more designs and styles currently in fashion globally. As we are isolated in the camp and unable to access what is happening in the outside world, this gives our trainees an "edge" on other local hairdressers who are still doing the same hair techniques they were taught long ago. 

Future plans for vocational training include tailoring. There are many modern techniques for sustainable clothing which reduces the need for a throw away culture. Tailoring is in demand at the camp, so refugees have access to a variety of clothing. 

In the daycare, we currently have toys and games that are non-digital. However, if we are able to receive funding, we'd like to offer digital resources to the children that will allow them learning opportunities while they are in our care. It would also be a place for them to have a maker space or to learn basic coding skills. This will need adequate internet access and devices which we currently don't have due to lack of funding sources.

https://bizfluent.com/facts-7257048-use-technology-hair-beauty-salon.html

The women and young mothers who are trained will be able to carry with them the skills they have acquired at THERE IS HOPE AFRICA everywhere. They will no longer be waiting for someone to bring something so that they can feed their families, and they will be part of the change and development process in the camp. This will empower them to feel valued as contributors and not burdens as it used to be in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

In addition, THA is working to find ways of making the program sustainable through micro-loans which would be available to trainee graduates and enable them to start their businesses. They could be repaid after a certain number of months or at certain benchmarks which would fund other trainee graduates. An example of this is Grameen Bank in Bangladesh (http://www.grameen.com/introduction).

Each cohort of trainees is forty (40) young women and mothers. The training lasts up to 6 months, so we will accommodate 80 trainees within the first year. If we continue at this pace, in five years there will be 4,000 graduates from our program. However, with funding, we hope to expand our center and also branch into other areas of Kakuma camp (there are currently 7 areas). If we expand, we hope to have 10,000 graduates within five (5) years. 

Our main goal is to make sure that at least 10000 refugee women and girls are self reliant and have the necessary skills required in hairdressing, tailoring, and ICT to contribute to the development of their households and communities in Kakuma refugee camp, and for refugee women across Africa. With proper funding, THA plans to expand into other areas of Kakuma camp and to other refugee camps in the region since there is a significant need to raise the status of refugee women in order reduce domestic violence and poverty. Training in ICT is in high demand in the camp, but requires a location and technology infrastructure such as internet, devices, software, desks, chairs, and professional trainers.

Currently, we have two barriers: the first is financial since we do not have the funds to achieve all our goals within the targeted population. The second barrier is acquiring the legal documents to validate our status as a recognized organization. Unfortunately, refugees are unable to have their organizations documented by the Kenyan government and this restricts us from getting funding because most funders require that recognition. Therefore, THA depends on individual donors and this makes the expansion of services and programs difficult. In addition, we must purchase most supplies from Nairobi which is very far from the camp. In order to leave the camp, we must apply for a permit that allows us to exit and return. 

If we are successful in getting the grant from MIT Solve, we will be able to achieve our goal to add technology to the daycare program and supply internet to the center to provide a more reliable source of information to the trainees and trainers about the most modern techniques in hairdressing and tailoring. We can even consider starting the ICT training for the community. By implementing all three programs (hairdressing, tailoring, ICT) there will be a positive impact in getting more refugee women and young mothers the necessary skills to cope with the current situation of unemployment and domestic violence.

7 contractors (full time staffs)

3 part time staff members

7 volunteers

EXPERIENCE:

Kitala Mupenge Fabrice: CEO and the founder of the community based organization by the name THERE IS HOPE AFRICA in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

UNHCR Kakuma-Kenya as an Interpreter/Translator.

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees as a Higher Education Director and co-founder

NRC-Kenya as a Hygiene Promoter in Turkana County in North-Western Kenya.

Refugee Consortium of Kenya(RCK) as a Protection Monitor in Kenya (Turkana West, Turkana  County)

Lutheran World Federation/Department of World Service in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Unit as a Case Worker in Kenya(Turkana West County)

Direction General des Douanes et Accises (DGDA) as a Customs Officer in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Solidarity Initiative for Refugees in collaboration with Xavier Project as Computer Basic Trainer and Founder

 Serving as a youth leader and the Sunday School Teacher in the Church

National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) as a shelter committee zonal leader

ATA-NAYECHE RADIO as a reporting Journalist within 2013 in Turkana West Kenya

 MY TEAM:

The operations manager worked as a Dispenser with the International Rescue Committee General Hospital for 4 years and 3 years as a community women mobilizer with child protection department.

The Assistant Operations Manager and the Secretary both worked with Women for women Beauty Saloon for 7 years.

There is an organization called Action Africa Help International (AAHI) that provided us with leadership training, and other very important partnerships. THERE IS HOPE AFRICA has made a connection with an individual supporter and donor from Kuwait, Dr. Ilene Winokur Alzaid who has been on the side of refugees in Kakuma refugee camp. Her support and our partnership has enabled many refugee women and young mothers to receive training in the Hairdressing skills required to be professionals in the field and open their own businesses. With her support and partnership, THERE IS HOPE AFRICA has made her an honorary member of THA.

In the future, we would like to partner with organizations to provide:

1. training to our daycare teachers in how to provide edtech games and maker opportunities to the young children

2. an app that will connect each trainee graduate with the ability to schedule appointments and keep track of their income and expenses.

The center received a generous donation from a private donor in 2019 to purchase the required equipment and supplies for the hairdressing training and pay salaries to the professional trainers. THA would like to start a micro-loan program for graduates of the program to help them start their business. In order to begin sustaining ourselves, we are thinking about starting a cooperative where teams of graduates can help finance the training of other graduates. Since trainees cannot fund their own training, THA must find a way to sustain its funding. 

We provide vocational training to refugee women and young mothers in hairdressing training and in the future we will expand to provide tailoring and ICT training. Prospective and interested young women and mothers in the community are interviewed by professional trainers to see if they fit the profile of a successful trainee. There are 40 women in each cohort and the program lasts approximately six (6) months. Once trainees have successfully completed the training (they must show their knowledge and skills to the professional trainers before receiving their certificate), they receive a small micro-loan to assist them in starting their business. 

The graduates are able to employ themselves based on the acquired vocational skills and provide for their households and contribute to the community. After they complete the training, graduates start generating an income and repay the micro-loan which can be loaned to a graduate in a future cohort.  

We are looking for partners in vocational education to support small scholarships for our trainees and provide the necessary supplies for each cohort. Through sustainable donations and grants, the organization will be able to start running programs that will enable us to support other activities because most of the programs are able to generate income in various ways.

We have also a plan of start  providing small loans to the graduates so that they can be able to generate income using the skills they acquired and support their households and give back the loan on a monthly basis in order to support other beneficiaries from future cohorts.

We are applying because in order to achieve all our goals, we need a significant amount that will help us to reach more refugee women and girls in need. As a refugee-led organization, THA has so far relied on donations and support from friends and family members in order to provide vocational training to the most vulnerable population that are women and girls. However, we have a successful model and need to expand to support other programs such as tailoring and ICT training. We also have an idea to provide micro-loans so more women can start their businesses after they complete the training. Since they cannot afford to pay for their training, we must find a partner that can provide trainees with those funds.

If we are selected by Solve, the funds will enable us to increase the number of our beneficiaries from 40 up to 100 per cohort. The funds will help THA to expand its activities even far beyond Kakuma refugee camp, we will be able to serve other refugees worldwide that are suffering economic hardships due to the lack of the necessary vocational skills to sustain themselves, their households and the community in general.

We will implement similar programs in various refugee camps such as Burundi, Rwanda, DRC, Tanzania, and other parts of the world where refugees are experiencing domestic violence and economic crises.

THA believes this connection will be a game changer because we will learn more from new partners. As refugees, our organization is limited in terms of funding and business expertise which limits our fundraising capability. If we are given the opportunity to acquire skills in revenue models, we can provide our own funding. We will make more progress with our programs and be able to serve more refugee women and young mothers not only in Kakuma refugee camp but in other camps worldwide. We believe that through media exposure, our solution can be known worldwide and all the efforts that we are doing, though we live in a remote area, can show others the power of individuals to gain skills and become entrepreneurs. Our work could be known and refugees will be valued in host countries where refugees are considered useless and a financial burden to them.

We are ready to partner with any organization that understands our challenges and is ready to help us overcome those challenges.

Our organization is a refugee led organization. We are committed to help our community, especially the most vulnerable groups that are women and young mothers to become financially independent by providing them with vocational skills training. We understand their problems better than any other organization because we are also refugees and live in the camp and are part of their community. 

Our beneficiaries are refugee women and young mothers. We think the prize will help us reach more refugees who are vulnerable women and girls. It will help the organization to empower refugee women and young mothers in Kakuma refugee camp to improve their standard of living, better provide for the children in their care, and contribute to the economic recovery of their communities. The technology we are proposing is only possible with funding and is related to the daycare program for the children of trainees and developing an app that can provide trainee graduates with ways to track their client appointments and income/expenses.

Girls are part of our target, and we hope to eventually provide them with STEM opportunities in an after school program. We believe this prize will enable us to serve expand the center's activities to create maker spaces and courses in coding.