Marc: Starting Afresh

Marc came to Cyprus in 2019 through the non-government-controlled areas. He had left the stressed life he had in Cameroon to find a better future. He wanted to get away from unfortunate events he had experienced and find better job opportunities to make some money and send back to his ten-year-old son. 

Marc is a single father as the mother of his child left them when their son was one year old. Marc’s mother was taking care of his son back in Cameroon while he was struggling to support them. 

When he arrived in Cyprus, he did not know anything about the country. He invested all his savings and the money he got from selling his family land to pay for this trip to Cyprus. When he arrived in Cyprus he decided to apply for international protection and tried to get a job. The COVID-19 pandemic did not help his situation as he could not work in the sectors where he had experience, like restaurants. While he was in Cyprus his mother died from COVID-19 complications and his son was left alone under the care of his aunt in Yaoundé. 

When the time came for his return, Marc was eligible for reintegration assistance in housing.  Once he returned home, he was able to find accommodation and therefore decided to convert his plan into a micro-project/start-up business in mobile phone selling. With the help of IOM, he was able to start his business to be able to support his son and himself.