The Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement hosts refugees from 22 nationalities (UNHCR 2019). In this setting, Swisscontact supports refugees and the host community to move from humanitarian support to a lasting development pathway and self-reliance. The Skills for Life (S4L) project, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, enhances refugees’ access to technical skills training, financial, life and literacy skills so that they have better livelihood prospects and income opportunities.
One of the refugees is 29-year-old single mother Janete, who lives with her three children in Kakuma refugee camp. After fleeing Rwanda, she first had to find her way around the camp. Together with other refugees and people from the host community, she took part in training provided by the Skills for Life project. Thanks to the project, she received financial education and developed her cooking skills as well as her soft skills. These skills allowed her to fulfil her dream to work in the catering trade and start her own catering business. Business is going well and she hopes to expand it into a big hotel someday.