Description of the integration initiative implemented
- community networks
- social services provided by the associations and NGOs as support (temporary accommodation, legal assistance, labor market, etc.)

Personal story
Marie-France used to travel frequently between France and her country – Senegal, when she ran a consulting company with her ex-husband, who has double nationality. She decided to get a divorce in 1995 when she learned her ex-husband wanted to marry a second wife since the polygamy is legal. It was difficult for her because the couple were tied up by their company and their three children.
Her ex-husband sent the two of their three children to France in 2011 while she took care of their daughter in Senegal. She decided to leave their company and the country home when she learned that their sons were having trouble with the police and got involved in justice troubles in France. At that very moment, she was engaged in politics and became consular in the Presidency’s office of Senegal. Leaving the country meant also to her to abandon her politic engagement.
She arrived in France in 2013 with her daughter and took the childcare back of her two sons.
Before her arrival, her friends told her that it should be very easy, since her children are French nationality. It turned out that Marie-France ended up almost sleeping in the street. “it’s contrary of what I have known when I came as businesswoman.” After one week spent in her sister’s apartment, Marie-France left and spent for a hotel. Without a pay statement, she couldn’t find an apartment to rent. And sadly, her ex-husband didn’t offer any help to her or to their children.
Through some friends of her community, she went to the associations of social work and looked for help: first she needed some medical services and then legal assistance. It came with the solutions of housing. Soon she was admitted in an emergency shelter in a hotel after trying the telephone service 115 for shelter. She thought it would be a temporary solution, except that it lasted one year.
With the help of her social worker, she obtained a part-time job and takes care of handicap children in school. Thanks to this contract, she finally obtained for her and her children a social housing.
Despite of her high level education diploma, she spent longtime in the procedures to obtain administrative papers in France and it took her almost 2 years after her arrival to get all paperwork done. It’s especially because, her children are French by the blood of their father, while she came to France with her passport of Senegal. She reminds a foreigner and needs to take care of her children who are French citizen.
She is looking to go back to her activities but said that she cannot leave her two sons alone now, since they are still having troubles in justice. She devotes her energies and her savings to help her children and barely has occasion to think about her future. “I’m already more than 50 years’ old, I would like to go back to Senegal and taking back of what I used to do in my company, if I can.”

Analysis of the initiative and individual story
The story of Marie-France focuses on the sacrifice the she made for her family: she quit her company, her politic engagement, her homeland, and encountered numerous difficulties in France, despite of her diploma and French language skills.
The fact that she doesn’t have French nationality but being mother of 3 French citizens doesn’t offer facilities for her stay permit. Legal helps are necessary from associations for her to obtain the rights to stay in France and assure the education for her three children.
She benefited helps from associations, social services, without which she would have problems to get health care, to find a housing or even a job. Her network in the community and in the family doesn’t give a significant support, because she doesn’t want to “bother” and to show her weakness after being a successful businesswoman for so many years.
Her ties to her children and the responsibility she feels for them contrasts to the role of her ex-husband who left three children to her charges without giving support or helps.

Results and Impact
- support of social services and social work;
- lack of stability in housing or accommodation solutions contributes to difficulties in the labor market;
- devoted to do sacrifice to protect her children’s future