Back in Dadaab

Dagahaley Refugee Camp, Dadaab

I have returned to my favorite refugee processing location after a three year absence - Dadaab UN Compound. Dadaab is the epicenter of one of the most protracted refugee crises in the world. There are five camps - Ifo (oldest of the Dadaab camps), Ifo 2, Kambioos, Hagadera (largest of the Dadaab camps) and Dagahaley - that serve as the make-shift home to an estimated 423,496 registered refugees (Reference: Care International) of which 51 % are female and 58% are younger than 18. Stop and think about those stats for a second because they're mind-blowing. 423,496 registered refugees...that's approximately the population of Rochester and Buffalo combined and almost the population of Boston. Much of the population has been in Dadaab since 1991 when the Somali

government collapsed and the country fell into chaos. It is common here to find yourself interviewing families where one or even two generations of children and young adults have no recollection of their home country whatsoever be it because they were born in the camps or because they were infants or young children when their families fled Somalia. Though Somalis make up the vast majority of the population here, there are also refugees living here who have fled from Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda and the Sudans. These refugees make up about 10% of Dadaab's population.

Ironically, despite the depressing nature of the refugees who have had to live here for so dreadfully long, my memories of Dadaab are mostly positive. This is the processing location where I learned to lead teams, where I met so many fascinating people from various organizations, all working so hard for the common calling of refugee assistance. I met UNHCR High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres here and celebrated World Refugee Day. Here, my female colleagues and I did make-shift, Bikram yoga under the setting Dadaabian sun and watched  the 2010 World Cup on a huge screen fastened to the side of a UN Compound restaurant called Pumzika! Together with national and international staff of all nationalities and backgrounds, we cheered and hollered in anticipation at the chance that an African nation would make it to the final rounds. When Ghana beat the US soccer team, the cries of joy could be heard for miles around, I remember all of my fellow Americans leaving in a huff, but the thrill of an African team making it to the top of the pack was too much excitement for me to leave as well so together with the  predominantly African crowd, I danced in celebration under the Dadaab star-lit sky. It wasn't until the early hours of the following morning that I finally allowed myself to sleep...

This time around I am only here for a week compared to the four and six month trips that I used to partake on before. I can hardly complain - I have a bigger role to play now at work and I have a beautiful baby girl and husband waiting for me back in Nairobi.While I'm here, I'm loving every second. Seeing how hard our teams work here, the long hours they pull and how deserving the majority of refugees of a second chance at Life's opportunities...it's all a very strong reminder of why I love what I do; why I do what I do; why I live in the developing world in the first place. I love what I do because unlike so many in the developing world, I can take pride in the fact that I am actually contributing something to what I hope is a durable solution for the world's most vulnerable. I love what I do because those adorable little, tiny girls in hijab and boys in Islamic tunics that I see in our interview rooms deserve so much more than what life in Dadaab can offer them. I'm doing my part to help them though they'll never know my name nor the fact that I even exist. That's completely fine with me though so long as I continue to do my part to get the most deserving of them to a better, safer place.

Statistical information on the Somali populations registered in Dadaab:
http://data.unhcr.org/horn-of-africa/region.php?id=3&country=110