Kakoma .. The story of a refugee camp founded by children policy

Kakuma33 years ago, a group of children went out to care for their livestock from a village South Sudan during Civil war In the country, upon their return in the evening, they found their village fully burned, and they rushed for fear of the place in search of a safe haven, and their feet led them away from violence outside their country.

Children continued to walk nearly today after crossing their country’s borders with Kenya to settle in one of the areas of the Kenyan Trukan Province, in the northwest of the country, founders of the first nucleus of the “Kakoma” camp, one of the largest refugee camps in the world.

With the escalation of violence in their country, hundreds of people were followed, then thousands of displaced people in search of a safe haven from the raging war, so that the camp expands from dozens of displaced people to thousands and then to hundreds of thousands, and currently extends over an area of ​​30 square kilometers.

Different nationalities

The “Kokoma” camp includes more than 9 different nationalities, most of them South Sudan andSomalia Ethiopia andCongo andRwandaAnd he suffers from difficult living conditions with Kenya’s inability to provide adequate support, as well as the lack and scarcity of international support directed to these refugees.

Although the majority of the camp residents are refugees fleeing the civil war in southern Sudan, but with the succession of crises, the camp turned into an alternative home to more than 340,000 displaced people, who live in simple housing of clay and tin, and depend on assistance from the High Commissioner for Refugees and international and local partners.

After more than 3 decades of its founding, the Kenyan government agreed with the humanitarian agencies a plan aimed at alleviating dependence on aid and pushing the refugees to rely on themselves economically despite the enormous challenges; Less refugees have the legal right to work or obtain Kenyan citizenship, as well as the lack of resources and infrastructure needed to build a real local economy.

“I arrived in Kakoma and I am a child after I lost my father in the war, today, I have a small shop, and I am trying to build a life again, despite everything,” says Peter Lawal, 28 -year -old refugee.

Daily challenges

Although refugees get shelter, basic health care and education, the scarcity of financing and the shrinking international support puts everyone to daily challenges, most notably the lack of job opportunities, food lack and poor infrastructure.

Education is one of the columns that refugees seek to install in the camp environment, as Kakoma schools embrace tens of thousands of children, despite the weak resources and the density of classrooms.

“I want my children to learn to have a future outside the camp borders, education is the only thing that cannot be stolen from us,” says Maryam Hassan, a Somali refugee and a mother of 4 children.

The efforts of NGOs and programs such as “emergency education” contributed to supporting refugees, but the need still exceeds the capabilities available.

Women play a pivotal role in the camp’s life, often responsible for supporting families in the absence of the breadwinner, and they face double challenges, including gender -based violence, limited economic opportunities, and the difficulty of accessing health care.

But in return, local and international organizations are working to empower women through small projects and vocational training initiatives.

“We are trying to redefine the roles of women within society, and to allow them a safe environment in which they express their capabilities,” says Rose Akilo, a female program coordinator in a local community organization within Kakuma.

Despite the difficult situation, the camp has witnessed in recent years the emergence of youth initiatives led by refugees seeking to improve their conditions themselves. Sports teams, digital skills education workshops, and environmental initiatives such as waste recycling and convert them into useful tools are spread in Kakuma.

Reducing support

The humanitarian organizations working in Kakuma suffer from increasing financial pressure, with the decrease in international financing for refugees, which has reduced food rations, health and education services.

“The situation is very difficult, and without increasing international support, it will be difficult to maintain the minimum basic services in the camp.”

“I dream of being a journalist, to tell our story as it is, the world knows about Kakuma except that it is a camp, but here we are building in the future despite everything,” said one of the young refugees who work in a volunteer team inside the camp.

The role of the government

In an exclusive interview with Al -Jazeera Net, the director of the Refugee Services Department at Kakoma Camp, Adwin Shabari, said that the Kenyan government is making continuous efforts to enhance security inside the camps, as “a number of police centers have been established to ensure civil peace, and this is done in constant coordination with our partners from international organizations, on top of which High Commissioner for RefugeesAndWorld Food ProgramIn addition to more than 53 other organizations that provide multiple services within the camp.

Shabari added that the role of the Refugee Services Department is to “coordinate the work of these organizations and ensure the quality of the services provided,” noting that government tasks extend to vital areas that include “water provision, sanitation services, refugee registration upon their arrival, and granting them identity cards and transportation permits, which enables us to track their movement outside the camp borders.”

When asked about the repercussions of reducing a budget American Agency for International Development (USAID) based on the decision of the US President Donald TrumpShapari explained that “the cuts caused a sharp decline in the level of services, and the high rates of crime within the camp, especially theft crimes, gender -based violence and violence against children.”

He pointed out that “these cuts directly affected the ability of organizations to employ cadres, as organizations such as forced International Organization for Migration And the International Salvation Committee to the demobilization of a number of employees, which negatively affected education programs, peacebuilding, and societal initiatives, which a large number of them were suspended, “and warned of the possibility of” a security vacuum and service void within a month if urgent measures were not taken. “

Regarding food aid, he explained that “the food shares decreased from 80% to about 40% of the actual need, and cash support has been reduced from 520 shells per person to zero, as of next June.”

He concluded his speech by saying that “the refugee issue is not only a national crisis related to Kenya, but rather a humanitarian and international crisis, and we are committed By international law Who does not allow the forced return of refugees, and we must receive them and deal with them in a manner consistent with our moral and cultural values.