UNHCR logo
  • Donate
UNHCR logo
  • Search
  • Rwanda
  • Menu

Select a language for our global site:

English Français Español عربي
Select a country site:
  • Donate
  • Media centre
  • Refworld
  • Statistics
  • Get Involved

Share

Facebook Twitter
  • About Us
    • Our partners and donors
    • Leadership and Contact Information
    • Media Information
  • Who We Help
    • Refugees
    • Returnees
  • What We Do
    • Emergency Preparedness and Response
    • Protection
    • Meeting Refugees’ Basic Needs
    • Economic Inclusion of Refugees and host communities
    • Capacity Building
    • Age, Gender and Diversity
  • Where We Work
  • News and Stories
    • News and Events
    • Human Stories
    • Briefing Notes and Press Releases
    • Voices of Refugees
    • Videos
  • How to Help
  • Resources
    • Rwanda Operational Updates and Factsheets
    • Emergency Updates
    • Refugee Reception / Iminsi yo kwakira impunzi
    • Job opportunities
    • Tenders & Announcements
    • Publications
  • Refugee
    • Help for refugees and asylum-seekers
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
    • Gikondo Community Centre
    • Protection Updates
    • Resettlement Updates
Search UNHCR
Close Search
 
  • Home

“My Lifelong Dream and Learning Experience of a Lifetime,” Lula.

UNHCR has over 300 staff working in Rwanda, most of whom are in the field. On International Translation Day, meet Lula Tensaew, an interpreter at the Emergency Transit Mechanism.

By Eugene Sibomana  |  30 Oct 2020

When her home was devastated during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, Lula Tensaew was just two years old. Her family had to leave their homeland to save their lives. After many years, Lula decided to pursue her lifelong dream of lending a helping hand to the refugee community. Interpreter at the Emergency Transit Mechanism set up in Gashora, Rwanda, to host vulnerable refugees evacuated from Libya, her story reveals bravery, a determination to give back, and a desire to help.

Meet ONE of our everyday heroes at UNHCR:

– A Refugee –

My name is Tensaew Lula. I was born in Eritrea, my family scraped into Sudan after our homes were devastated during the Eritrean Ethiopian War, where we spent a few years in a refugee camp before moving to the U.S.

– A Volunteer –

I arrived in Rwanda as an International United Nations Volunteer (IUNV) two weeks before the coronavirus lockdown. While I was hired as an interpreter, I am very happy with additional roles allocated to me, including community service, to the delivery of Non-Food Items, as well as working with female Persons of Concern (POCs) for guidance and exchange of knowledge through a WhatsApp Group.

– An Interpreter –

I speak multiple languages that are spoken in multiple communities in the Center. This helps me to listen and express the needs of the POCs adhering to the UNHCR Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) Approach.

As Nelson Mandela said:

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

My ability to communicate in multiple languages of the POC’s builds bonds with the community, especially women and girls, facilitates UNHCR’s protection interventions at the Center, and resolves many issues including conflicts within the community. The POC’s also have shown trust and share their concerns with someone they can trust. This also helps our protection team to do their work with a better understanding.

– A Career and a Calling at UNHCR –

Right now, I am where I need to be, not only working for the UN Refugee Agency was my lifelong dream, it has also become a learning experience of a lifetime.

To serve as a UN Volunteer in a refugee camp like ETM, with those refugees and asylum seekers, is a rewarding experience I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

If given the chance I will continue to work in the same field.

Today, refugees and asylum seekers have effective and efficient access to protection services provided by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and partners at Gashora Transit Center, thanks to Switzerland’s support for interpreters in ETM Rwanda.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

 

  • UNHCR Global website
  • UNHCR REGIONAL WEBSITE
  • ONE UN RWANDA WEBSITE

© UNHCR 2001-2022

  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact Us
  • Camp Authorization
  • Tenders & Announcements
  • Refugee
  • Refugee
  • Follow