Community Spotlight: Separated from Family, Layla finds community and economic opportunity through RefuSHE
Layla Mohamud Hassan (29) endured a traumatic childhood growing up in Ethiopia.
My stepmother beat me,” she says, showing scars on her ears and forehead. “Me and my younger sister all day we didn’t eat, and when we went to search for food in the evening, she locked up the food. ... And also she decided she wants to marry me off to her brother… and because I didn’t want to, I decided to leave.”
Layla resettled in Kenya in 2015 and lives in a largely-Ethiopian neighborhood in Nairobi. Layla is quite talkative and witty, but her limited understanding of English and Kiswahili held her back both socially and economically. She did house chores to survive, saving money for rent and later starting a small clothing business.
“In Ethiopia I never went to school or even kindergarten … but when I came here I made a decision to start my life," Layla says. "At first no one helped me. Even in 2020, during the pandemic, I didn’t have rent. I slept in the mosque. I told myself I will never give up."
For Layla, the turning point was when a friend connected her to RefuSHE's local Women Ambassador Group (WAG). The group connected her to business training and to our Functional Literacy & Numeracy course. This course teaches rudimentary English and Kiswahili, as well as basic mathematics in a business context.
“I really appreciate it because I got a chance at education that is free,” Layla says. “It’s helped me with my confidence. I know how to promote my business and interact with customers without fear.”
Despite a past marked by abuse and displacement, she remains resilient, motivated, and hopeful. Her greatest aspiration is to expand her education, strengthen her business, and one day support orphans so they do not endure the same hardships she faces.
“In the future I would like to help young orphans," Layla says. "I know the problems they face. If I get money and get a better place than here, I want to help them.”
