Blog 4: Higher Education for Refugees

    In Kenya, there is a town called Dadaab. Refugees from Somalia have learned to   call this place home, at least for the time being. A few countries have came together in order to make the first higher education school called Dadaab Campus of Kenyatta University. It will be the first higher education for refugees ever. It will offer diploma, undergraduate, and masters. The courses include public policy, peace and conflict, commerce, and education. There are over 448,000 refugees that fled to Dadaab because of Somolia’s famines. War surrounds them which makes the people that want to help scarce. There is land mines, and people ready to shoot all over the place. They are even offering a study abroad program. It is expensive, 100,000 shillings, but it is something that a lot of them want to do. They do have help from outside countries. Canada has teamed up with Kenya to start BHER, Borderless Higher Education for Refugees. It is a partnership for improving education opportunities and for refugees and marginalized local communities. Education is very important if you want people to be self-reliant. It also keeps people involved, there will be far less “anti-social” activity. This is not like food, something you have for today but tomorrow it is gone. This will get people ready for the future and all the things it has to offer.
    Education is of the upmost importance. These refugees have been through so much. They say multiple times in this article that education is a right. Everyone should have the right to be properly educated. It is a global issue that is not true. It is not fair that some people do not have to resources or the people necessary to give everyone a proper education. If we all ban together to try to help everyone get educated the world would be a much better place. The fact that this is the very first higher education place for any refugees ever, says a lot in itself. It is imperative that we help everyone. What they said at the end of the article is completely true. Education is something that they can keep with them forever. It is not something that just leaves the next day. They can use all the things that they have learned later in life, even when and if they return to their own country. It will also help their children. If they are educated, then they will also educate their children.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jan/31/kenya-dadaab-innovative-educate-refugees
Kenya’s Dadaab Finds Innovative Ways To Educate Knowledge-hungry Refugees

Ashley Burkhart
2/15/2013
2:41 PM