KANERE - A Refugee Free Press
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Only 36% of students in Kakuma Refugee Camp passed the 2008 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam. Of the 1,215 students who sat for exams in Kakuma Camp primary schools, 440 are academically qualified to continue on to secondary education. Of those who passed, 50 students were girls.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Of the 1,215 candidates who sat for the 2008 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in Kakuma Refugee Camp, only 40 (3%) will be eligible to continue their education at the camp secondary school. With the classrooms of Kakuma Refugee Secondary School barely filled, the future of hundreds of youth is uncertain.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Mr. J.M., a Congolese refugee in Kakuma Camp, was awarded an extraordinary scholarship opportunity to pursue a two years master program in medicine at Lund University, Sweden. He was due to begin his programme of study on 12 January 2009. Unfortunately, Mr. J.M. is still present in Kakuma Camp due to UNHCR processing delays.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009 The Anti-Warehousing Campaign spearheaded by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), an NGO based in New York, is changing refugee situations world-wide. More than 130 signatory NGOs from all over the world and prominent personalities, including three U.S. Senators, have joined the campaign.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Information is power, and sharing information with refugees on matters that affect their lives is vital. Refugee Status Determination Watch (RSD Watch, www.RSDWatch.org) is an organization devoted to just this purpose—disseminating information to create awareness on and advocate for refugee rights under the RSD process.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Our beautiful world contains a lot of good things but lacks peace. It is no surprise for refugees in Kakuma Camp to experience peace for a short time and then watch it disappear. So it is significant news that Kakuma Refugee Camp experienced nearly constant peace during the last two months.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Refugees were alarmed to see that the food ration package distributed in the second week of January replaced wheat flour with yellow maize meal. Yellow maize meal is rarely eaten even by communities whose staple food is maize. The current malnutrition rate in Kakuma Camp is 15.9 percent of the population, according to a recent UN survey.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
The illegal brewing and drinking of chang’aa in Kakuma is a daily reality. With tags like “poison brew” or “kill-me-quick,” chang’aa is an alcoholic brew that can cause death and blindness to its drinkers. Each evening, people strolling in the camp can expect to encounter loud and obnoxious drunks wandering paths and loitering in markets.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
For Kakuma Camp business persons, last December’s business slumped as the number of Sudanese customers diminished. Long-time camp residents can still remember the booming business during festive seasons of earlier years.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Refugees in Kakuma Camp experienced many different events relating to religion, social life, politics, education, and encampment in the year 2008. These contributed to their joys or added to their sorrows.