After participating in Isuroon trainings, Abdi realized the importance of tracking his expenses and income on paper. Now, he is in control of his finances and feels more comfortable in being able to manage his family’s budget.
Adbi’s Story
Adbi
“Life is not too difficult when you have a vehicle.” These were some of the first words that Mr. Abdi said when he began Isuroon’s IDA Refugee Savings Program. Abdi is a Somalian refugee who moved from refugee camp in Djibouti and was resettled in Minneapolis in 2016 with his wife and 8 children.
When they first arrived, Abdi and his family did not know anyone, they didn’t have the support system and network to help ensure their success. Luckily, Abdi heard about Isuroon and our work with refugees. When he first came to Isuroon, we helped him and his family get settled in Minneapolis by securing a house to rent. He continued to build a relationship with Isuroon and our staff; when he received many important documents in the mail, he would come to Isuroon to assist him in reading and understanding the documents and navigating the system as necessary.
After being in the US for some time, Abdi had cycled through a couple different jobs but ultimately left because of his lack of reliable transportation. Finally, he found a full-time job that he liked but he still needed to secure transportation. After having built a relationship and support system with Isuroon over the years, Abdi was informed by our program coordinator that Isuroon would be offering the IDA Refugee Savings Program in 2018. Abdi jumped on the opportunity to participate and save for a car to help him maintain his employment.
Not only did he save up for a car, but Abdi also took part in our financial literacy training. He said that he learned a lot from the financial literacy training, like how to set up a budget for his family. Before the financial literacy training, Abdi didn’t track his expenses as well or write anything down. After participating in Isuroon trainings, he realized the importance of tracking his expenses and income on paper. Now, he is in control of his finances and feels more comfortable in being able to manage his family’s budget.
Abdi let our staff know that he is forever grateful to have Isuroon and he would not be where he is today without our support. Congratulations, Abdi, on your car savings and your increased financial literacy skills!
This program is funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement