The Safe House: An Enclave of Peace and Hope

Frances* is a young girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). At RefuSHE, she is pursuing her high school degree and will sit for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in the next two years.  She is also taking business education, financial literacy, and vocational training courses at RefuSHE. She is preparing to sit for her tailoring examination, accredited by the Kenya National Industrial and Technical Authority (NITA), in December. When she’s not studying, she manages her own perfume business and hopes to expand it after finishing her studies.  

Frances came to Kenya after her father, who was part of an opposition party in DRC, was killed. Her mother became a target as well. Fearing for her life, she ran away, leaving Frances alone with her older sister Mary*. Two men later came looking for their mother, but when they only found Frances and Mary, they sexually assaulted and beat them. Their mother never came back. A neighbor, an elderly woman, brought them to a religious leader for help. He took Frances and Mary in, but he and his wife abused them. The girls would go to sleep without food and were not taken to school. They were forbidden from talking to neighbors, and if they happen to talk with them, they were beaten. The abuse continued to the point that the wife threatened to poison the children.  The husband then decided to take them to UNHCR. 

UNHCR referred Frances and Mary to RefuSHE. They moved to the RefuSHE Safe House where they were provided food, clothing, and shelter. Frances and Mary were also enrolled in the Girls Empowerment Project (GEP) to continue their primary school education and Kiswahili and English language skills. After staying in the Safe House for more than six months, Frances and Mary were placed in a foster home.  

Today, Frances and her sister are thriving.  Frances has become a leader in the RefuSHE community through her determination, strength, and perseverance. When she first joined the GEP, she was very shy and unable to speak English or Kiswahili. With RefuSHE’s psycho-social support and holistic services, she has built her confidence, sense of empowerment, and self-reliance. Frances continues to demonstrate outstanding performance in both class and extracurricular activities and is a role model for the other girls. They nominated her to be their student leader, and she is active in the RefuSHE community as a Junior Ambassador Group (JAG) member. As a JAG member, Frances ignites community dialogues around sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response, life skills, and human rights. Through community trainings, Frances and her fellow JAG members identify vulnerable cases for referrals to RefuSHE’s core programs.  

In April 2019, Frances participated in a trauma-informed yoga training. This training taught Frances to be a teacher of therapeutic practices that she can show others dealing with the symptoms of trauma. Frances plans to continue her community outreach work after graduation. RefuSHE is connecting her with other refugee artisans in the community who can share best practices in business, how they got started, and helpful knowledge of the neighborhood markets. RefuSHE is honored to serve Frances as she embodies our core values of respect, honor, and dignity.  

“When I lived outside, I was stressed, but when I came to [RefuSHE], they provided for us counseling to address our psychological problems.” 

*Name has been changed for protection and security reasons