20.12.11
18 graduates from the Dadaab refugee camp were celebrated on Friday. 18 men and women who with determination and focus have benefited from the growth in the education sector of Dadaab.
The Danish Refugee Council, DRC has been supporting education in the Dadaab refugee camp since 2005 and some of the students, who graduated on Friday, were beneficiaries of the DRC scholarship programme implemented through CARE Kenya.
“This day is a clear demonstration of what men and women of vision powered by the enthusiasm to excel, the courage to overcome and the determination to make the best out of a challenging environment can achieve,” said DRC Country Director, David Kangethe, when speaking to the new graduates at the graduation ceremony conducted by the Kenya Institute of Social Work and Community Development.
There were no formal schools in the Dadaab camps in the beginning – back in 1991/92. At the time volunteer teachers conducted their lessons under the shade of acacia trees. Today 56,079 students receive lessons in one of the 24pre-school centres, 24 primary schools and six secondary schools.
Despite the growth in the education sector in Dadaab camps, only 34% of primary-school aged children are enrolled in primary school; only 7% of secondary school aged children are enrolled in secondary school. Statistics indicate that about 72% of eligible children in the camps do not attend school. Three-quarters of these or 77% are girls.
“We all must work hard to make sure that these children come to school and can one day go through a graduation ceremony like this,” said David Kangethe.
“Water, food, shelter, medical care and other services provided by the humanitarian community are only available to the refugees while in Dadaab but education is one thing they can carry with them wherever opportunities arise in the future. It’s the only take away commodity available to the refugees in Dadaab.”
DRC is putting up two storey school buildings in IFO 3 and Hagadera camps on behalf of UNHCR in 2012. Capacity building of the teaching staff is also being enhanced through camp based teacher training in partnership with Mt Kenya University.
Read the full speech given by David Kangethe, Country Director, Danish Refugee Council
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