UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa motivates youth desperate for higher education in Dadaab.

 

In his passionate drive to advocate for quality higher education for Somali refugees, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Mohamed Affey, visited Dadaab Refugee Camps on 9th and 10th October 2018.  He met with refugee youth some of who have completed secondary school, but they have had no access to higher education.

In his interactions with the youth, Ambassador Affey listened to their aspirations, dreams, challenges and needs. He encouraged them to remain positive and use their time in the refugee camps to engage in self-education as they aim for a brighter future.

“Education is the greatest equalizer in life.”

“The day you become educated, you will take care of yourself and your community. You will forget the pain of being a refugee,” Ambassador Affey told the youth.

He urged the refugees in the Dadaab camps to take advantage of the facilities that UNHCR and partner agencies have provided. He also reiterated the importance of advocacy to address key barriers to higher education for the large number of Somali refugee students in Dadaab.

“We are here in Dadaab to do advocacy work for the international community and our partners for continued support to refugee education in Dadaab so that many more can get an opportunity to go to school, to transit from high school to university and from university to the job market around the world as responsible members of the global community,” the envoy said.

Ambassador Affey appealed to the international community, private sector, Somali civil society and Somali business people, Somali government and NGO partners to scale up their support to create additional higher education scholarships for Somali refugees.   He observed that education is a key driver in finding durable solutions for refugees in protracted refugee situations. The youth in Dadaab remain expectant that the advocacy efforts by the Special Envoy will increase the number of scholarships programmes for higher education.


Technology to Improve Education in Emergencies-BHER Project

The Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Project is an international collaboration between Canadian/Kenyan universities and NGOs working together to make educational programs available where refugees need them. The refugee encampments of Dadaab, Kenya remain one of the largest and long-standing camps in the world today, hosting three generations of refugees from Eastern and Central Africa. Only one per cent of refugees have access to higher education and attending university or accessing other tertiary degree has been almost impossible. Young women face additional barriers to pursuing an education.
To redress this situation, BHER aims to provide gender equitable tertiary programs to working, untrained teachers who can then contribute back to the community, increasing and improving education in the camps overall . These same students continue beyond their teacher training certificates and diplomas, applying their “portable” earned credit towards full undergraduate and graduate degree programs. In doing so, BHER students can increase their opportunities for employment in the camps, local areas and upon resettlement or repatriation to their home country, where fruits of the project’s aims were realized and ongoing.

Refugees Can Learn

The provision of a suitable environment for everyone on this planet would enable to learn and be productive in society. Refugee condition is not a limit but a situation that cultivates more opportunities for the refugees, by utilising resources and opportunities available to reshape their lives. It is possible for the refugees to excel in life and contribute to society, creating aspirations for the disparate groups of the community, in order to raise their achievements. This is possible with determination, that would result in performance and competence, and finally emerging as a resourceful person that impact the lives of many people, being an agent of change.