Refugees, hosts stitch their way up

Life is getting better for Sifa Stone, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) based at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District.

Stone learned to produce affordable reusable sanitary pads for women and girls in 2025 under a project funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf).

She is hoping to use her new skills to improve her livelihood and financial status.

A single mother of two boys aged 9 and 10, Stone arrived at the camp in 2016 with her husband, who later abandoned her and their children a year later.

“I was left with no stable source of income and struggling to provide for my family. I relied on performing occasional chores— like washing people’s clothes—to survive,” she recalled.

The hardship was so severe that her children sometimes missed school because they lacked food and basic supplies, even though tuition was free.

Making Covid masks

In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Food Programme (WFP) working at Dzaleka Refugee Camp invited individuals with tailoring experience to train in production of face masks.

Drawing on the basic tailoring skills she had acquired in her home country, Sifa joined the initiative and, with additional training, helped to produce face masks.

“When the project ended, I continued with casual labour and taking on occasional tailoring work as I was limited by not having my own sewing machine,” she said.

And sanitary napkins

In 2025, her life took another positive turn when the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, through Cerf funding, selected 26 vulnerable individuals for a specialised two-day training in production of reusable sanitary pads at the Dowa District Centre.

Stone qualified for the training  because of her tailoring background.

Today, she continues to use the sewing machine she received from WFP after the training.

“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunities that have transformed my life,” she said. She is now not only able to afford enough food for her children but also able to send them to school regularly.

Today, equipped with tailoring skills, Stone collaborates with a small group to train other willing resource-limited individuals so they too can become self-reliant.

“I see a promising future ahead, particularly with the skills gained from the sanitary pad project,” she said.

Beyond the UNHCR-funded project work, she also would use her mornings and evenings to sew school uniforms and other items to earn additional income.

With the ending of the UNHCR project, she hopes to continue producing affordable reusable pads for women and girls who either cannot afford sanitary pads or want to save money – a sustainable opportunity.

The project under theUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs concluded at the end of 2025 after it had provided the reusable pads to all the girls and women in the camp.

Kiliness Kanyoza, a resident in the host community near the camp, also received the training.

She says: “I was already a tailor in the host community, but I have learnt new techniques in sanitary pad production.

“This will help me improve menstrual hygiene and generate income through sales in my community. I hope to uplift my family.”

Marie Claire Uwiragiye, a leader in the camp, says, arrived in 2018 from a camp in Zambia.

“This project has changed my mindset. I now believe that I can use the skills I gained to do something meaningful and earn money to support my family,” she said.

Thomas Kitungano, another tailor at the overcrowded camp, did not know how to make sanitary pads.

“With the new skills I have gained, I will now be able to produce the sanitary pads and teach others how to make them as well,” he says.