A fashion company in Jakarta is giving refugees a chance to learn the trade and follow their dreams.
Ahmad Musawer Faizi, 21, fled Afghanistan in 2015 when the Taliban attacked his house and arrived in Indonesia alone.
He always had a passion for fashion.
Training opportunities are a lifeline for refugees in Indonesia, who have limited opportunities and no legal right to work. The country hosts less than 14,000 refugees, with about half from Afghanistan. Amidst unpredictable funding and dwindling resettlement opportunities, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been looking at new ways to help refugees be productive, positive and ready to seize the moment.
The ‘Benang Project’ is the brainchild of Indonesia-born fashion entrepreneur Franka Soeria, a co-founder of Modest Fashion Week, which showcases longer, looser styles for women in several cities around the world. Soeria set up the Benang Project after meeting with UNHCR and hearing about the challenges facing urban refugees.
The project started in September 2018 and is training six refugees (5 women and 1 man) in the fashion business – from cutting patterns and making their own designs to organising fashion shoots and shows. Some of their work has already been seen in a fashion show by Indonesian designers in Paris, France, in November.
Soeria hopes to expand the project and encourage other business leaders to offer similar skills training opportunities~UNHCR
