by Jazmine Otey
Egette Indelele said coming to the U.S. as a Tanzanian child refugee felt like stepping into a new world. The eight-year-old was born and raised in a refugee camp. Now, she would have to attend school for the first time, adjust to a new culture and quickly learn and master English.
“Imagine coming from a world where there’s fighting, violence and a lack of food and clothing to a world where the culture and language is different,” Indelele said. “It was very difficult. For a long time, I was like, ‘Is this real? How am I here?’”
Inspired by her own experience, Indelele, now 22, founded Safe Haven Space. The non-profit organization will give refugees access to mental health resources, therapists and first generation student-mentors. It will also feature a variety of mental health intervention programs.
Through Safe Haven, she aspires to combat the stigma of mental health within refugee communities. She also wants to provide a safe space for them to tell their story.
“Safe Haven Space came out from who I am and what I have been through, especially as a refugee woman,” Indelele said. “I hope to impact refugees in so many ways in terms of dealing with mental health issues that they might not even know about.”
The idea for the program emerged when Indelele first learned about mental health during her junior year at Patrick Henry High School.
At the time, she was juggling three jobs to support and help take care of her five younger siblings. Due to how overwhelmed she was, she experienced many symptoms of mild depression and anxiety.
There were moments where her arms shook uncontrollably, her mind raced and her heartbeat quickened. She eventually became very sick due to her poor mental health.
But it wasn’t until she took the psychology course that she learned about the terms for what she was experiencing. Knowing that she wasn’t alone brought her comfort and helped her cope.
“As I was surrounded with people like me who have been through many things, it made me want to be healed,” Indelele said.
She wanted to help other refugees and her family heal too.
She knew that countless refugees had experienced many difficult moments and in consequence, often had unresolved trauma.
Each refugee had a story to tell, but few had an outlet for what they had been through. She felt as if a program that provided refugees with mental health resources and a place to talk about their feelings would be the perfect solution.
In 2017, she started her undergraduate career at George Mason University as a psychology major.
Two years later, she and a team of two others brought her program idea to life in the Mason Summer Entrepreneurship Accelerator program.
During the eight-week program, they had the opportunity to conduct intensive research with the guidance of experienced entrepreneurial instructors and mentors.
She and her team spent roughly 10 hours a week doing intensive research to see what therapeutic interventions would be most effective for refugees and immigrants. They also contacted advisors who worked with refugees, presented their program initiative to organizations and interviewed around 70 refugees.
At the completion of the program, each team member was given a $3,000 stipend. Indelele was grateful for the support, both financially and emotionally.
“It was amazing hearing [different organizations’] thoughts and comments and seeing them love the idea,” Indelele said.
Since then, Indelele has been featured on the Mental Health News Radio Network and has worked hard with her team to prepare for a pilot stage they will have in two months. During this stage, they will test the effectiveness of their program.
“She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met,” Caroline Stanfill, her godmother, said. “Just to see her grow and develop from a child who had dreams to someone who is fulfilling those dreams and working hard to make the world a better place is inspirational to me.”
Toby Nmoh, her boyfriend, added that despite her small stature of just barely five feet, when she speaks, she’s the tallest person in the room.
“She’s really powerful,” he said. “She’s been through and has done so much, most people would have fallen victim to circumstance, but because she’s her, she prevailed.”
In the future, Indelele dreams of establishing a clinic in Burundi to help educate Burundians on mental health and the effects it can have on their body, mental and spiritual well-being.
But, for now, she plans to continue helping refugees navigate through a new world.
“You have to lead with your heart,” Indelele said. “I’m doing this for my family and foreigners who are coming into the U.S. They need to feel that they belong.”
