Meet Claudine

Claudine recently joined Beautiful Day as part of our Granola Production Training Program.

Originally from Kirundo, Burundi—located near the border with Rwanda—Claudine worked as a family farmer and market vendor. She is fluent in several languages, including Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili, and she is currently learning English at Dorcas International, Rhode Island’s largest refugee resettlement center. 

While working as a farmer, Claudine also ran a small shop, selling fruit juice from their banana, orange, and papaya trees, and small snacks. While she didn’t get the chance to attend school, working in her shop helped her gain confidence in managing money and running a business. On the farm, her family cultivated a variety of foods, including rice, cassava, potatoes, beans, cabbage, onions, garlic, greens, and tomatoes. 

Claudine and her family fled Burundi to Zimbabwe, where she lived in the Tongogara Refugee Camp for 18 years with her husband and five children. During her time there, she had a small garden where she could continue to grow food. 

Claudine came to the United States in March 2024 with four of her children; the fifth is still living in Zimbabwe, and her husband passed away while they were still living in the camp. 

In addition to learning English, Claudine is learning to make and package granola and hummus in the Beautiful Day kitchen. She is using her skills as a shop manager to follow recipes, measure ingredients, and be part of a team.