•Mire formed the Dadaab Book Drive, which has partnered with Books For Africa to support refugees in Kenya with reading resources.
•He said Children caught up in conflicts will end up either as peacemakers or as peace breakers. The difference is the opportunities they get while in Camps.
Image: COURTESY
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
This is the quote Abdullahi Mire leaves by.
A man that once lived in the Dadaab camps in the 1990s now donates books to the learners at the Dadaab camps.
Mire formed the Dadaab Book Drive, which has partnered with Books For Africa to support refugees in Kenya with reading resources.
He says schools in the camps struggle with shortages of books, one book is shared with 10 students. With his networks and friends he hopes to reduce the ratio from 1:10 to 1:1.
"This will enable each student to have a book to participate during the lesson and to study at home. Less than 3 percent qualify for universities from the camp, and that's what we want to change because we all use the Kenyan curriculum," he said.
The Dadaab camps, located in Garissa county, represent the longest-standing and largest refugee camps in the world, hosting 210,556 as at March.
Dadaab has three camps, namely the Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo camps.
The education sector in Dadaab includes and is not limited to pre-school, primary and secondary school.
In the three camps, there are 22 primary schools and six secondary schools. In addition, there are six private schools following the Kenyan curriculum, as well as a number of religious schools (Madrasas and Duksis).
The schools follow the Kenyan curriculum.
As though the scars of war are not bad enough, child refugees arrive in Dadaab only to find education hard to get.
Those who squeeze into class have to adapt to sharing books and eventually they drop out of school from lack of quality education.
"It is the dream of every child and parent to get a decent education out of the refugee camp in Dadaab, "Mire said.
Those who made it out of the camp he says are already rebuilding their home countries.
"Reports available show that more than 40 percent of people who work in the humanitarian sector in Somalia today are former refugees who lived in Dadaab for years and went back."
He said Children caught up in conflicts will end up either as peacemakers or as peace breakers. The difference is the opportunities they get while in Camps.
“When kids come and they don’t get an education, we see a repeat of the war over and over again, because they don’t understand the causes of it.'”
In April, Mire worked with Qatar Embassy in Nairobi and other well-wishers and donate 5,000 books to students in Dadaab refugee camp.
"I truly thank the Qatar Ambassador to Kenya for his donation and visiting Dadaab," Mire said.
Image: COURTESY
Mire in December will provide 20,000 books to start new community library in Dadaab Refugee Camp.
“The books are supplied by Books for Africa, an international organization that is working end the book famine across Africa,” he said.
The books will give students an opportunity they never had before; to learn, to have fun with education, to have a pathway to a better life.”
I am really optimistic on the program with great support from UNHCR and UNICEF Office in Dadaab that this project will successful.
“Education and reading is one of the avenues of advancement of our society. I am thrilled to support the youth in Dadaab and trust these books will make a difference for positive change,” he said.