Nene’s Story

Providing support to separated children and unaccompanied minors is a long-established service within Tusla Child and Family Agency. This year there has been a significant increase in arrivals, which means the need for carers providing supported lodgings has never been greater.

Christmas gifts may be getting smaller as budgets become increasingly squeezed but, children aside, the season isn’t really about the presents, it’s about friends and family – a chance for people to gather, albeit briefly, to share in the festive spirit.

But when you don’t have a family of your own, Christmas can be a tough time… especially if you’re a young person new to these shores, who has fled their homeland in fear for their life.

Nene Hawa Barry is one such person. Now 19, she arrived here in 2020 from Guinea, in West Africa.

Nene was forced to leave her country and family, due to circumstances that left her traumatised and extremely vulnerable.

When she arrived in Ireland she was also alone, unable to speak English, and frightened of what lay ahead.

Thanks to Tusla, though, things are a lot brighter now – and it looks like she has a whole extended Irish family to enjoy the festivities with.

Nene, who lives in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and who is a Leaving Cert pupil in St Kilian’s Community School, found her new Irish family when she was placed in supported lodgings with them shortly after her arrival.

The supported lodgings service provides accommodation to young people, aged 16-18 years, who are out of home and are not yet ready to live independently. It’s a way to give young people emotional support and help develop independent living skills in a safe environment.

Or as Nene puts it: ‘I didn’t have a home, but I have one now.’ Speaking about her carers, who have since retired from the great work they did, Nene says: ‘They make it feel like it’s your home. We ate together, we could talk… it’s just like family.’

Nene is now living in rented accommodation but continues to stay in touch with the carers, who have moved house.

‘I know all their kids and grandkids. I had a really lovely experience with them. I saw them a month ago and will be going to their new house for a sleepover soon.’

It’s hard to reconcile the bubbly personality of Nene with that of the young woman who came here just two years ago.

‘The first year was really hard. I didn’t know what was going on. I was asking myself: “What am I doing here?” I found Bray to be so far away. I had no friends. I felt so lost and a little bit frightened, but the family made me feel comfortable.’

Now, thanks to the supportive structure put in place by her carers, with whom she stayed for 18 months, Nene has real hopes for her future.

Speaking excellent English and already fluent in French from her homeland, she is studying for six Higher Level subjects for the Leaving Cert and hopes to study accountancy in UCD or DCU. She also hopes to stay in Ireland.

‘I feel really comfortable here. I feel loved, and I want to give back to this country what it gave to me,’ she says.

And isn’t giving what this time of year is all about? In fact, the generosity that we associate with Christmas is reflected in the generous welcome that Tusla’s carers across the country show when they provide supported lodgings for separated children newly arrived here from abroad.

Right now, Tusla is caring for 184 unaccompanied minors, mainly from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Somalia, but from other countries too.

Any adult over 25 years of age can apply to become a supported lodgings provider, whether they are single, married, co-habiting, in a same sex relationship, employed, unemployed or retired. Homeowners and those renting accommodation can also apply.

The prospective provider must agree to the assessment process, which involves Garda checks, medicals, references, to see if they are suitable for supported lodgings. The assessment also takes into account a person’s lifestyle and how a young person might fit into it.

But all those checks are worth it, because not alone do providers offer a new beginning to those fleeing strife, in pragmatic terms our own economy benefits from the fresh talent that is subsequently introduced to our workforce, as Nene’s story shows.

Her carers were also supporting two young people from Somalia, who Nene is still in touch with. In fact, one of them is in the same rented accommodation that she herself uses.

Support also came from Tusla-funded counselling that helped Nene come to terms with her terrible ordeal in Guinea, and with missing her family and adjusting to a new culture in Ireland.

‘The counselling is really helpful. I had lost my self-confidence, but it makes me believe in myself,’ she says. ‘I got lots of support from Tusla – they got me a school, they organised online classes in English, the counselling, and they got me into a gym.’

And the future is looking even brighter as Nene’s aftercare worker is helping her with the paperwork to bring her family here from Guinea.

They started the process last year, so who knows, maybe next Christmas will be one with her own family of mum Mariama and Nene’s two little sisters and brother gathered together to enjoy the festive season.

As far as Christmas presents go, it doesn’t get better than that.

By becoming part of Tusla’s supported lodgings network, you, too, can make just as much of a difference in the life of a young person by opening your heart and your door to those fleeing violence and persecution. If you would like to find out more contact us by freephone, email or sign up for our online information session where our team will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.