Despite the fact that Budanbek (34) was the first person to open an internet cafe in his home village, the income it was generating was far from enough to support his family. Budanbek decided to look for a better life abroad.

Lured by local employment agency, which as he later realized was not to be trusted, the man paid a large amount of money for the well paid job in Finland, which didn‘t exist. The company went bankrupt and Budanbek lost all his money. The initial try to leave for Western Europe made Budanbek‘s family worse off, as he took a credit which had to be paid back. After the second try to leave his country, Budabek found himself for 9 months in Sweden,  illegaly working in an azerbaijani-owned cleaning firm. However, soon after as his Lithuanian issued Schengen visa expired, the man was detained by Swedish authorities and deported to Lithuania.

As soon as Budanbek heard that IOM Vilnius Office is not only in position to offer assisted voluntary return but also reintegration assistance, the kyrgyz decided to take his chance.  As Budanbek had his internet cafe business back in Kyrgyzstan, which was closed during his stay in Europe, the possibility to receive reintegration assistance was a great opportunity to come back home and revive his small business. With a help from IOM Vilnius, Budanbek purchased 7 personal computers, which are currently successful in generating income in his once again open for business internet cafe. A field monitoring visit made it clear that the business is successful, past credits are almost paid off, while Budanbek has got clear intentions about expanding the business in the near future.   

Budanbek admits that the reintegration assistance was crucial in making up his mind to stay and create a new life in Kyrgyzstan and wiped out all thoughts about re-emigration.