A Story behind Refutera

Fatima, a young aspiring refugee woman living in Indonesia who is originally from Afghanistan. She moved to Iran only at six months old because of the war. She then began school and after graduation she got married. Meanwhile, Fatima decided to join the art university because of the passion she had but sadly she could not finish her studies.

In 2015, Fatima moved to Indonesia with her family. After a year of living in Indonesia, Fatima joined a refugee learning center as a volunteer art teacher and taught for almost two years. For some personal reasons, they moved to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.

When they moved to Jakarta, Fatima joined the sisterhood as a student where programs and services promote the rights of women. At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 pandemic began, and everything went down, and it was a hard time for her. Refugees in Indonesia have limitation such as not being allowed to work which means they do not have an income, to study in public schools which affects children’s future. Fatima studied in the sisterhood community and joined crafting jewelry classes and thought by this way she can help her family. She also found out that she is interested in crafting jewelry and started creating products. She also owns her a social media page and sells handmade jewelry products online. Fatima believes that crafting needs a lot of hard work and patience, yet she sees a bright future to extending her work, helping other women to believe in themselves and help them stand on their own feet.