Homelessness Task Force Hosts ‘Success Story’ Zena Huwa

By LILA SEIDMAN | Reporter

Hope reigned at the latest Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness (PPTFH) meeting on Sept. 22.

For task force members were uplifted as former East African refugee Zena Kuwa shared her moving story of transitioning out of homelessness—with the help PPTFH and Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC).   

“Because of your contributions, I’m standing here,” Kuwa said at the meeting.

Just a few months ago, in the beginning of April, Kuwa was living in a tent on Will Rogers State Beach.

PPTFH’s Sharon Kilbride noticed she was a newcomer and offered her services via OPCC. Kuwa was hesitant at first, but after a month of engagement, she eventually consented.

“I knew she had a lot to offer,” Kilbride told the Palisadian-Post.

When Kilbride met Kuwa, she was using handmade oils and tinctures to give other homeless people massages.

“They were just transformed into these really different kind of people—I saw the difference that it was making.”

Kuwa, who was born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia to parents fleeing war in Sudan, explained, “I’ve been homeless literally since the day I was born.”

When war broke out in Ethiopia, her family was forced to move to Kenya. Then, in 1998, her father told her he was applying for her to go to the U.S. And soon enough, Kuwa touched down in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“When you’re in Africa, everyone’s dream is to come to America. You watch MTV, you watch movies. [We were] looking for a better life and we thought America would be it,” she said.

It was a one-thing-led-to-another kind of situation. Kuwa’s immigration papers expired, then she lost her job, then she lost her home. Hard on her luck, Kuwa decided to hitchhike across the country and try to learn about her adopted culture along the way.

After a stint in New Mexico, she landed in Pacific Palisades with no clear idea of where to go, or what to do, next. Then she met Kilbride.

“I was sitting there thinking … ‘how can I get myself out of this situation?’ Kuwa said. “It just seemed like there was no way out. And if I was to get a way out, it would be a lot of hard work. By grace, Sharon showed up.”

Now Kuwa is now in the process of getting her greencard and looking for permanent housing. Her dream is to start a business selling her herb-based tinctures and oils. (She was handing out business cards at the meeting.)

And Kuwa hopes to one day pay the kindness forward. “If I do make it in the future and if I do go back to Africa and I have money—hopefully—I could try my best to help those in need. Because I was there, I saw that,” she said, stifling tears.

OPCC’s Maureen Rivas recounted another success story from this year. She and the rest of the team helped Robbie, who had been homeless for 10-plus years, reunite with his family in Las Vegas.

“We’ve become a paradigm for other communities,” said PPTFH Fundraising Committee Chair Barbara Overland, explaining that Malibu and other areas have seen the success of the PPTFH and are adopting similar measures.

However, Overland said that donations to PPTFH have been low, and urged community members to contribute.

The task force has been fully funded for 2016, but is still $22,000 short of its 2017 goals. It currently has no funding for its third year.