Threads of Safia
In a large family of seven members, Somali refugee Safia, at the age of 40, started her own project in the field of dressmaking, robes, and shields. She began with limited resources, a small workforce, and a modest income that was not enough to meet most of life's requirements.
This led her to search for a solution that would fulfill her needs. Safia joined a vocational training program in sewing, funded by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), to hone her talent in this field. Due to her excellence and distinction, she was honored with two sewing machines. Later, she was contracted by the Refugee Training Center, affiliated with the UNHCR, to train a number of trainees, and she successfully graduated eight women under her guidance.
She then applied for funding from Namaa Small and Microfinance Foundation, through the refugee branch funded by the UNHCR, to purchase the necessary sewing materials.
With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020, Safia started producing medical masks and marketing them in pharmacies and grocery stores. This enabled her to overcome the impact of the halt in her project. Safia says, "Producing these masks is my contribution to reducing the spread of the coronavirus, and I also make a decent profit from this product, as I produce 60 masks per day."
After the pandemic ends, Safia hopes to open a boutique for designing and sewing modern women's fashion, allowing her to showcase her products more effectively.