Burundian manufacturer of refugee soap fighting coronavirus in Kenya

When Innocent Havyarimana started his soap opera business in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in early 2015, he tried to continue the traumatic events that had caused him to flee his native Burundi a year earlier.

Little did he know that his cottage business would become an important weapon in the fight against coronavirus in one of the world’s largest settlements of its kind – in Kakuma live almost 200,000 people.

Once the former chemistry student realized how important it was to wash hands to tackle the distribution of Covid-19, he lowered prices and began offering his products in smaller quantities and sizes to make it more affordable.

“Everyone needs soap, but not everyone can afford it. That’s why I lowered prices, because it was more important to protect people than to think of profit,” the 35-year-old told the BBC.

“I had to increase my production by 75% to meet the demand when the pandemic started, so Covid-19 was good for my business.

“But I made sure I gave free soap to vulnerable people like the elderly and disabled.”

Mr Havyarimana’s initiative has been praised by the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, which often emphasizes the contribution of refugee entrepreneurs to their host communities.

“The refugees play a crucial role in limiting the spread of Covid-19 in Kakuma,” Eujin Byun, a UNHCR spokesman in Kenya, told the BBC.

“They helped in many ways, from spreading information about the virus to helping people take the necessary measures.”

She added that she was not surprised by the decision of Mr. Havyarimana to lower prices.

“Refugees are very community-oriented and they will take care of each other. They have acted before and helped us do our job in such situations.”

Mr. Havyarimana currently has 42 people in its company, Glap Industries, namely God Loves All People. Most of the workers are refugees, but 18 are Kenyans from the city of Kakuma.

Glap provides local businesses and institutions outside the camp and even aid organizations.

“The agencies buy my soap to give away to refugees who cannot afford it and also to their own staff,” the Burundian notes proudly.

Mr. Havyarimana is not the only local soap dealer, but he is not afraid of competition, and in fact offers classes to teach people how to make detergents.

“I want to mentor women and younger people so that they can have the opportunity to become independent and improve their lives like I do,” he says.

“I want to help the community in any way.”

Attempts like his possibly helped keep Covid-19 in Kakuma at a distance.

The latest figures from the UNHCR, which date from December 24, show that there were 341 confirmed cases with 19 people under medical care. There are ten deaths due to the virus.

Kenya has registered nearly 100,000 cases nationally, with about 1,700 deaths, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

According to the UNHCR, political instability and violence have forced more than 300,000 people to flee Burundi to neighboring African countries in the past decade.

Mr Havyarimana was in the middle of his chemistry studies at the University of Burundi when he left. He says his life was in danger and that he received death threats from family members of his deceased mother, who also confiscated his house.

After arriving in Kakuma, he wanted to earn money for himself, rather than relying on humanitarian aid.

The camp is located in an isolated and arid region where the provision of basic services is a challenge for aid organizations.

Mr Havyarimana explored the region, noting that there was no soap factory, which meant that cleaning products had to be brought in from elsewhere.

“I had no idea how to make soap, so I started surfing the internet for knowledge,” he explains.

He later enrolled in a soap-making course offered by the World Lutheran Federation Aid Agency, and with a loan from a former classmate in Burundi, he started the business with two helpers.

He has also received grants from aid organizations, including the UNHCR and NGOs, such as the African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC), which say they have supported more than 18,000 refugee entrepreneurs.

“The story of Innocent shows how refugees can contribute to their host communities in different ways,” AEC chairperson Julienne Oyler told the BBC.

“Camps like Kakuma are so isolated that entrepreneurs like him are a lifeline to basic goods and services in a time of lockdown and other constraints.”

A 2018 World Bank study identified more than 2,000 businesses in Kakuma and estimated that they contribute more than $ 50 million (£ 37 million) to the local economy annually.

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Michelle Richey, a lecturer in technology and entrepreneurship at Loughborough University in the UK who specializes in refugee business, says people like Mr. Havyarimana is very important in changing the general perception of refugees.

“The human potential within refugees shows when we give them a chance to work instead of just concentrating on humanitarian issues,” she says.

“We can help those people regain some control over their lives after everything they’ve been through.”

Starting a thriving business is not the only change in Mr. Havyarimana’s life since he arrived in Kakuma. In 2017, he married Aline, a fellow Burundian refugee he met in the camp.

They have two sons, and the youngest, Prince, was born in late November.

Mr Havyarimana speaks with love about life in Kenya, but he dreams of being relocated to Australia or Canada.

“I like Kakuma a lot, but I want to give my wife and children a better life,” he says.

Meanwhile, Mr. Havyarimana on expanding his ways of helping the community, and he offered 21 types of soaps and detergents, but he also created a hand sanitizer made from aloe vera grown in a stain just outside his workshop.

“Coronavirus has affected the whole world, but for us here in Kakuma, it has made it even more important that we clean our hands in everything we can,” he says.