Who We Are
Since 2008, RefuSHE has served thousands of women, girls, and children through our award-winning holistic model. We provide the short and long-term support refugee girls need to become emotionally resilient and economically independent. Formerly known as Heshima Kenya, RefuSHE has grown alongside the young women we serve, ensuring that our programs are always for and by them.
Our Mission
RefuSHE protects, educates, and empowers orphaned, unaccompanied, and separated refugee girls and young women to build healthier and more resilient futures for themselves and their children.
Our Vision
We believe that every refugee girl, woman, and child deserves a life of dignity with equal access to safety, education, and economic prosperity.
Our Core Values
Heshima. (n). Swahili. respect, honor, dignity
The Challenge
The global refugee crisis is more severe today than ever before. There are now 108 million forcibly displaced people around the world, including 35 million refugees—more than at any time in modern history. In Kenya alone, there are more than 680,000 refugees, 98,000+ of whom reside in urban areas. According to UNHCR, Kenya continues to be among the top refugee-hosting countries in Africa.
83%
OF REFUGEES IN KENYA ARE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Over half of the world’s refugees now live in slums and informal settlements in some of the biggest cities across the globe. Unlike camps, cities often allow refugees to live autonomously, make money, and build a community. However, cities also make refugees vulnerable to marginalization, exploitation, and harassment.
68%
OF REFUGEES IN KENYA ARE UNDER AGE 18
Who We Serve
RefuSHE serves one of the world’s most vulnerable populations – refugee girls. Our programs prioritize the needs of young refugee women and girls living in urban and peri-urban Nairobi who have been separated or orphaned due to war, conflict, violence, and drought. They have fled instability and persecution in their home countries across East Africa in search of protection and essential needs like clean water, food, shelter, and health care.
Urban refugees who live outside of designated refugee camps have less access to resources and face unique risks. Unaccompanied refugee girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to sexual and emotional violence, physical abuse, domestic servitude, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, illiteracy, forced or early marriage, early pregnancy, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Genital Cutting (FGC), xenophobia, extortion, human trafficking, and persecution from host communities.
50%
OF REFUSHE’S PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS HAVE EXPERIENCED AT LEAST SOME FORM OF SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
We are dedicated to building safe, scalable, and sustainable solutions for urban refugee women, girls, and their children, so that they may live their lives with dignity and joy.
Our Approach
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to caring for vulnerable refugee women and their children. That’s why our programs are co-created by refugee girls, for refugee girls. Our model is as unique as the population we serve.
