STORY: Refugee entrepreneurs thrive in Kenya's Kakuma Camp
SHOOTING DATE: June 19, 2024
DATELINE: June 20, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:28
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): JAMES ASANDE, Xinhua reporter
2. various of business enterprises in Kakuma Camp
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): SHUKURANI HOTA, Refugee entrepreneur
4. various of business enterprises in Kakuma Camp
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Swahili): VUMILIA KIZA SAIDI, Refugee entrepreneur 
6. various of UNHCR supported camps
7. various of UNHCR official
8. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NANDURI SATEESH, Head of UNHCR-Kenya sub-office in Kakuma
9. various of business enterprises in Kakuma Camp

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): JAMES ASANDE, Xinhua reporter
"Amid the challenges faced by the refugees in this Kakuma Camp here in Kenya, the dedication and compassion of NGOs and the host country Kenya are lighting the path of hope and empowerment towards a better future for the refugees."

Shukurani Hota is among thousands of displaced persons who have found refuge at the refugee camp, Kenya's second-largest, hosting about 288,000 refugees from nine countries, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

By handmaking African dresses in the camp, this 40-year-old mother from the DRC has provided a relatively comfortable life for her two children since fleeing civil strife in her homeland in 2012.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): SHUKURANI HOTA, Refugee 
"This job has assisted me to do a lot in my life. My livelihood has been boosted as well as that of my family and my employees. I have paid school fees for my kids. I have also employed different refugees from different countries and also a few from the host country."
   
Vumilia Kiza Saidi, a 36-year-old refugee from the DRC, has established a hairdressing business specializing in hair and beauty products since 2010.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Swahili): VUMILIA KIZA SAIDI, Refugee
"This business has brought of a lot of benefits. First I have employed Kenyans, South Sudanese and Congolese. The business has been my strength and pillar as a refugee. It's a lifeline for me and my employees in this camp."

Nanduri Sateesh, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR-Kenya) sub-office in Kakuma, said that enterprises based in the refugee camps provide economic benefits to both refugees and host communities.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): NANDURI SATEESH, Head of UNHCR-Kenya sub-office in Kakuma
"So they need to be supported in terms of the seed capital, that is monetary, the money that is needed to improve the business based on a business plan they have. And we also give them administration management and management literacy training to ensure that the entrepreneurship, the businesses they have established are sustainably going forward."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)