Rebbeca Poni – 24 years old is a Female South Sudanese Refugee settled in Omugo Zone of Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in the West Nile sub-region of Uganda. She is married with two children.
She was trained in saloon and hairdressing from Omugo Technical School through support from Oxfam under the Enhancing youth Entrepreneurship and employability project funded by Oxfam IBIS. Upon completing the three months ‘training, she was supported with a set of start-up kits comprising a mirror, braids, conditioner, shampoo, trolley, Comb, hair pomade, hair treatment, and curling lotion.
This support enabled her to set up her saloon in Omugo settlement market. Because of her outstanding skills, she was identified by a potential employer who recruited her as a trainer. She is, therefore, currently employed by Fify Beauty Parlour and Unisex saloon and has a 3-month contract to offer training to 60 youths within Omugo Zone of Rhino camp Refugee settlement.
She earns Uganda shillings one hundred fifty thousand monthly. Rebecca says she will save part of her earnings to establish a better saloon after the employment contract. She is so excited that she has an opportunity to impact more lives of young people through empowerment with skills and knowledge.
She is grateful to Oxfam for training her and encourages that the kind of support given to her be extended to other participants since the need for such support is still so high in the Refugee settlement.
Ends
Oxfam in Uganda, with funding from Oxfam IBIS, has been implementing an Emergency Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods ( EFSVL) project within and around Imvepi and Omugo zone of Rhino camp refugee settlement in West Nile sub-region. The project is titled Enhancing youth entrepreneurship and employability skills for sustainable livelihoods in refugee and host communities, West Nile, Uganda. The project seeks to empower vulnerable South Sudan refugee youth to have sustainable access to employment opportunities and dignified livelihoods. the project is a continuity of Oxfam’s previous intervention to introduce livelihood support programs, enabling refugees and host communities to rebuild their productive assets and enhance their entrepreneurship aspirations.