Semira, 35, is an Eritrean refugee woman running a small successful tailoring workshop in Khartoum, Sudan.

She was trafficked from Eritrea in 2018 with three other women. With no protection or source of income, they endured many hardships.

“We had no place or shelter to go to and no source of income to meet our daily needs. We almost lost hope of finding a place to protect ourselves.” Semira.

They eventually found shelter at the Eritrean Association safe house supported by UNFPA. Soon after, they participated in an income-generating activities programme, where they trained in sewing, tailoring and running a small business. After successfully completing the training, they were given one sewing machine and some fabric as capital to help start their own business.

“I feel blessed for getting this opportunity that changed our lives and empowered us, saved us from more vulnerability.” Semira.

Semira is working hard and hopes that one day she will be able to afford four sewing machines - one for each of her business partners - to grow the business.

Semira is one of 15 vulnerable Eritrean refugee women in Khartoum who were supported with income-generating activities through UNFPA’s project with the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project has supported two safe houses and three women’s centers in Khartoum, where more than 5,600 women and girls benefitted from a wide range of protection services between 2019 and 2021. The impact of the project is being felt to this day, with women and girls empowered and having strengthened mechanisms to prevent violence, abuse, exploitation, and discrimination.