Océane Malibangar and Joyce Bit: two refugee women forging their own path in Cameroon

Sitting in her makeshift laboratory on the veranda of her home in Yaounde, Océane Malibangar mixes water and ingredients in a dark blue plastic bucket held firmly between her feet.

“I love anything that has to do with fashion and beauty, and I’m very particular about my skin,” she says, “that’s why I had to learn how to make skin care products.”

There is hardly any sophisticated equipment on the wooden table next to her, but with the powders and ingredients in pouches and bottles, Océane has developed a line of products she calls Kellya Cosmetics.

“I make shower gels, body lotions and treatments for various kinds of skin blemishes,” she says, showing off samples from the table.

It’s a good thing she had this business going on the side, because the IT company she was working for has been closed for three months.

“People don’t’ choose to become refugees, it just happens.”

Océane has always had ambitious goals. Fleeing the Central African capital Bangui in 2013, - amidst horrors she still finds difficult to talk about today - didn’t rob her of the motivation to work towards those goals.

“People don’t’ choose to become refugees, it just happens.” she says. “So, I don’t see why me becoming a refugee should have stopped me from trying accomplish my goals in life. I knew no one in Yaounde when I first arrived, but I walked into businesses and asked for literally any job I could do. I also did a little business. I used to go to Douala and buy shoes to resell in Yaoundé.”

Eventually she raised enough money to pay her way through two years of university in Yaounde, studying business finance. During her third year, she heard about the DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) scholarship programme, and successfully applied. Then she saved some more money to pursue her passion.

“When I finished my degree programme, I paid to learn how to make cosmetics. It does not bring in huge amounts of money, but it’s enough for me to look after my kids and my siblings. For now, I sell by word of mouth and through social media, but I would really love to have a small shop where people can walk into and look at my products on shelves.”

Almost 600km away from Yaounde, Joyce Bit, another Central African refugee, waits tables at a hotel in Garoua-Boulai, a bustling town along Cameroon’s border with the Central African Republic in the East region. Joyce fled Bangui in 2013, with her family at the age of 19. She knows what it is to entirely depend on aid for survival and she never wants to be in that situation again.

“When I just got to Cameroon,” says Joyce. “I was depending only on the monthly assistance I received from UNHCR. But even then, I knew that it was not something to depend on. I knew I had to find something to do.”

That she received only three years of formal education in primary school was not an obstacle in her mind.

“I began asking around and heard about the opportunity at the hotel. I came, dropped my application and later the manager called me and told me that I had the job.”

The work can be gruelling, especially during peak seasons like Christmas and New Year’s, but it pays the bills.

“You must try to be self-sufficient”

“I have been working at the hotel for two years now,” she says. “The pay is not much, but I can take care of myself and my daughter and even save during some months.”

Her savings are sometimes depleted by unforeseen circumstances – her mother was seriously ill recently, and that took a huge chunk out of her piggy bank – but she is not discouraged. While she’s grateful for her current job, Joyce is working towards setting up her own small business.

“I learned how to make dresses, so I want to save enough money to setup my workshop.”

Both Joyce and Océane are looking forward to the 8th of March, to celebrate with other women as has become custom in Cameroon – they will make Women’s Day-themed dresses and take part in parades (which are returning to both towns after a two-year absence because of covid-19).

“Women are strong. We’re not like men, we’re different but that doesn’t mean they are more than us in any away,” says Joyce. “And refugee women, we don’t always fold our hands and wait for help. No, we do little things to help ourselves, like small businesses. We sell in the markets, and we work in farms to support ourselves.”

Océane is also encouraging all women, whether refugees or not, to fight to have their own source of income.

“You must try to be self-sufficient,” she says. “You should not depend entirely on someone other than yourself. If you have support, welcome it, but that should always come second. I rely on myself. In my head, I know who I am, and I have zero doubt that I will get to where I want to be.”