Education and Empowerment for Refugee Girls

Sammy seemed as though she had a privileged childhood, living in a comfortable home with family. Sammy is shy and reserved and it wasn’t until she became more comfortable with staff at Heshima that she started to share her story. Sammy was born deaf but was able to learn sign language at Heshima enough to communicate with staff. She feels that it was only by the grace of God that she was rescued from the life she had back home.

Sammy was separated from her parents and brothers during the civil war in Congo, when her father was killed and her brothers and mother fled leaving her under the care of some neighbor. When war intensified, her guardian fled to Kenya as a refugee, bringing her to the country as well. The foster family rented a small house in the Eastland area of Nairobi; where they lived together until their savings ran out and they could no longer afford basic needs and rent. It was at this point that the family took her to UNHCR and left her there. She was referred to Heshima Kenya and taken to the Safe House. She was also enrolled at the Girls’ Empowerment Project at Heshima, a program that equips refugee girls with basic

Although Sammy still feels uncertain about venturing out into the world with her disability, she also feels confident that the skills and knowledge she has acquired over time will be very useful in propelling her to any heights she dreams of achieving in life. Sammy wants to strengthen her sign language knowledge in order to communicate with more people and more effectively. Sammy is optimistic and happy that she has a bright future ahead of her.