Dear John,

Today is World Refugee Day – a day to honour people who have been forced to flee and celebrate their determination and resilience, and we couldn’t think of a better story to share than that of Nyakouth and her bakery!

Last week I told you about our journey to Bentiu, in Unity State of South Sudan, where we met women collecting water lilies in the same camp we met Nyakouth. Nyakouth also lost her home and all her livestock due to devastating flooding. She was left with nothing and worried all the time about how to feed her children.

“When the flood came, everyone was displaced. The area was filled with water, and there was no dry place. We lost a lot of things: our property, our cows, our goats, and our chickens. We lost everything.” - Nyakouth

Today things look very different for Nyakouth. She is the proud owner of a bakery. With help from UNHCR, Nyakouth was given training to become a baker, and a small business loan to open her own business.

UNHCR is supporting Nyakouth and other people in her community who’ve lost everything to the floods, giving them small business grants to start a new life. They tell us that they especially love ending their day with a hot cup of tea and a slice of warm bread as they laugh with each other.

At first, Nyakouth was worried that she wouldn’t succeed. There had only been male bakers in her community before. But she needn’t have worried. Now her business is not only thriving with around 200 regular customers but is so successful Nyakouth is employing several other women to work at the bakery too.

“I am very happy to be able to employ other women to work with me. I am happy that I have people to help me, because we are able to support each other. By working together, it means that everyone can learn this skill and make things.” - Nyakouth 

In South Sudan, as well as places like Kenya and Malawi, cycles of extreme flooding and drought are not only uprooting entire communities, but driving food shortages, hunger and malnutrition. People forced to flee are among the hardest hit by hunger.

Here at UNHCR, we are working hard to create long-term solutions. By supporting activities like fishing, farming and baking, we’re not only helping to provide people like Nyakouth with a living, but access to nutritious food for themselves and the community.

Mark World Refugee Day with a donation, and you could make our work go even further.

Just $150 could provide three families with seeds and tools to set up a kitchen garden in Kenya, while $600 can help a refugee like Nyakouth open a bakery or run a small business in South Sudan.

Thank you for standing with refugees and people forced to flee. Refugees and displaced people have strength, courage and determination in abundance, but they often lack the opportunities many of us take for granted. Together, we can change this.

Thank you,

Amy Christian
UNHCR Communications Officer