5 facts about the world’s biggest refugee camp in Kenya

By Ninja Taprogge, CARE Emergency Communications Officer in Dadaab

 

More than 275,000[1] refugees are living in Dadaab, the biggest refugee camp in the world in Kenya. Here is what you need to know.

 

1. Dadaab is not a usual refugee camp, it has five sectors and is more likely a small city

Established in 1991, Dadaab is the biggest refugee camp in the world. Originally constructed for 90,000 people fleeing civil war in Somalia the camp would eventually host over 460,000 refugees, when one of the worst droughts ever recorded hit East Africa in 2011. Today, more than 275,000 refugees live in five camps, around 95 percent from Somalia and the rest from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda among others. Each of the camps is divided into different blocks according to nationality. The two biggest camps are Hagadera and Dagahaley with a population of nearly 150,000 followed by Ifo and the two newest camps Ifo II and Kambioos established in 2011. Throughout the camps refugees have their own markets where they can buy fruits, rice or sugar to upgrade their monthly food rations distributed by CARE and other aid agencies or spend what little money they have on clothes, mobile phones and other daily necessities.

 

The five refugee camps in eastern Kenya are the largest such complex in the world. (Photo: Ninja Taprogge/CARE)

 

2. Refugees don’t just receive support, they improve their own communities

In the beginning of each month, refugees receive a food package including maize, sorghum and mobile phone e-vouchers for food called “Bamba Chakula,” which they can use to buy fruits and vegetables at registered market stalls in their camps allowing them to make a choice in what they eat. Most of the market stalls are owned by refugees. They earn their own money to make a better living for their families. But it is not only the job as a market stall owner that enables refugees to pay for milk and meat; it is also humanitarian organizations that employ refugees. CARE has handed the day-to-day running of the camp over to refugees. With the support from ECHO the refugees have been trained in leadership as well as technical skills in maintaining water pumps and counselling services. Around 1,600 of them are supporting CARE’s work in the camps, as teachers at primary schools or building latrines and monitoring water distribution points. Most importantly, refugees are also involved in improving humanitarian operations and are encouraged to hand in complaints or positive feedback through specific post boxes. 

 

3. Kids are going to school and it’s girls who improved the most

At Dadaab’s inception there were only five percent of girls living in the camp who went to school on a regular basis. For the past 25 years CARE has been working closely with women and girls to empower them and shift cultural norms, and has helped bring about major change in the refugee population especially girl’s education. Today, nearly 14,000 students are going into CARE-run schools and it is almost 50-50 percent boys and girls who are sitting in classrooms. It is girls like Makhdis who have made the most progress throughout the years. She went to one of seven CARE primary schools in Dagahaley, participated in CARE teacher trainings, and is now working as an English teacher at her former school.

 

Makhdis Noor, 22 years old, was a teenager when she went to Juba school, one out of seven CARE primary schools in Dagahaley, the second biggest camp within Dadaab. She liked going to school that is why she decided to participate in CARE teacher trainings after her graduation. Today, Makhdis works as an English teacher at her old primary school, giving back what she received once (Photo: Ninja Taprogge/CARE).

 

4. It is not all about water and food, it is about logistics too

People who are living in Dadaab fled war or drought without having the chance to take much of their belongings. Providing clean and safe water as well as food is very important to ensure they can survive. This is no easy task. Dadaab sits in northeastern Kenya, surrounded by desert and requires a significant logistical operation to transport relief items. Sand clogs engines and these vehicles need to be regularly serviced. The CARE Mechanical Service Unit maintained more than 300 UN, NGO and police cars in the past months, and also provides technical advice in terms of vehicle and equipment specifications during procurement for all of the agencies working in the refugee camp.

 

5. It is not only refugees who have been living in Dadaab for years

Some of the refugees living in Dadaab have been there for over 25 years, since the camp was established in 1991. But it is not only refugees here. It is also humanitarians who have spent years in this remote area, working as program advisors, mechanics or administration and logistics officers. “I have dedicated my life to refugees in Dadaab. By providing essential services in transport, distributions and warehousing I support those displaced by war and conflicts. I have enjoyed being in company with the vulnerable, sharing their stories and giving them a glimpse of hope for their future,” explains Jacob Ochiel, a CARE assistant logistics officer, who joined the camp more than six years ago.

 

 

Media Contact:

Ninja Taprogge, CARE Emergency Communications Officer in Dadaab, [email protected], +254 717 914 806


[1] UNHCR – October 15, 2016 (not online yet).