Lewa Marathon

For the last few months, I have been getting my exercise on the 3.3 km sand road around the UN compound.  A few laps is no big deal, but try training for a half marathon on the sand! 

My training ground.

What was I training for?  Why, the Safaricom Half-Marathon in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (or "Lewa" as the natives refer to the race).

Still feeling good at 10 kilometers.

Safaricom is the largest Kenyan cellphone provider and is the major sponsor of the marathon and half-marathon (which most people opt to run)  held in  Lewa Wildlife Conservancy near Mount Kenya.  The full marathon is considered one of the most difficult in the world, and I'd argue that the half marathon is one of the toughest as well! The course runs through the bush over undulating terrain at an average altitude of 5,500 feet.  But what makes the race so unique is its location in a game park.  The conservancy is home to over 100 rhinos, herds of elephants, and other exotic animals, so you never know who/what might be running next to you as you make your way to the finish line.  Security is must, and armed rangers, helicopters and a spotter plane are all deployed to watch over the runners during the race.

View of the first water station

Upon arrival at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, my friends and I received our race bibs, quickly stopped by the campsite and then, as any good Kenyan would do in a nature park, went on a game drive.  I am still awed by the sight of giraffes, zebras, gazelles just meters from the car!

Our safari vehicle!

Roughing it

Pre-race game drive, of course!

The race is limited to 1,000 participants with a cap on the number of spectators as well, so you better sign up early!  The conditions on race day were ideal, cool with some cloud cover.  As to be expected, the scenery  along the 21 km circuit was spectacular. 

 I snapped many photos along the way.  Unfortunately, I also shared some water at one of the water stops with my camera.  Of course, the pictures of the elephants next to the race course now look like elephants in a blizzard...or just a blizzard.

 The race, which raises money for the conservancy as well as projects benefiting the local communities, is not to be missed.  Runners come from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful landscape, challenging course and merriment that make up the Lewa Marathon weekend.

And we're off!

If you run and find yourself in Kenya in June, I definitely recommend signing up for the race!

1 Refugee Is Too Many

July 20, 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of World Refugee Day and the 20th year of refugees in Dadaab, Kenya.  This year's global theme, "One Refugee Is Too Many," was especially poignant in Dadaab as the number of refugees living in the three camps now exceeds 370,000!  At each camp, the day was celebrated with skits, songs, and readings by school children, ethnic minorities, musicians, community leaders and others.  There were many appeals to UNHCR to increase its efforts to meet the needs of the ever-increasing camp population.



Sporting our World Refugee Day t-shirts at Dagahaley Refugee Camp.



Dagahaley Refugee Camp school group performing a song and skit.



The crowd was enthusiastic, and everyone enjoyed the performances - even when the loudspeakers stopped working!

Children watching the performances.

Refugees recognized for their contributions in the camps.

  

Students performing a skit in which people fleeing from Somalia are attacked by bandits who steal their few remaining possession.

 A female school group singing a rap song.

The Dagahaley Camp Chairman gives a speech.  The camp chairman and chair lady are the top leadership positions in the camp.

 UNHCR staff and special guests at the World Refugee Day events in Dagahaley Refugee Camp (I'm next to and behind the people wearing red shirts).

This year alone, over 62,000 newly arrived refugees have registered with UNHCR in Dadaab - with a daily average in June of 1,500 people!  And remember, the camps were only built to hold 90,000!  Fear of Al Shabaab and the continuing drought in Somalia have caused people to exit the country in staggering numbers. 

Familiar sight of a newly arrived family.

Each day as we drive to the UNHCR field offices in the camps, hundreds of people sit in the dirt near the UNHCR gates waiting to be helped.  The sight is heartbreaking- children without shoes, having walked for days in the hot sand; dust-covered faces; naked babies carried on the backs of young children; and elderly people carried on makeshift stretchers.

Temporary shelters (which end up being long-term shelters) provided to new arrivals.

Waiting to be assisted by the Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR at Ifo Refugee Camp.

Keeping up with the growing number of people who arrive each day at the refugee camps is a difficult task.  Although emergency food is provided immediatley upon arrival, it does not last long.  It is only after a refugee has been registered with the Kenyan government and then UNHCR that the family receives a ration card, giving them access to bi-monthly food distributions.  Food is distributed over a one-week period, based on family size.  But even that food is not enough.

Standing with colleagues at the reception center for new arrivals in Ifo Refugee Camp.

For most refugees, registration is just the beginning of a long period of waiting and hoping for help from aid agencies.  Resettlement is the end goal for the majority of refugees; however, it can take years to be scheduled for a resettlement interview, have your case processed and finally board the plane to a third country. 

Below is a photo of a Somali Bantu family whom I interviewed for resettlement.  Because one of their children is Albino, the wait for their interview was only (ONLY!?!) 3 years.

 There is no end in sight to the refugee situation in Kenya, but each day we can try to give someone hope for a better life.

Reminders of home

Although 7,200 miles separate Nairobi from Portland, Maine, on several occasions it has felt like a whole lot less.  The "small world" encounters and reminders of the Pine Tree State over the last 5 months (although not numerous) never cease to amaze me.  I've met two fellow Mainers in Nairobi - both of whom grew up about 15 minutes from my hometown.  In Dadaab, I work with a refugee interpreter whose entire extended family lives in Lewiston.  He was so excited to meet someone from Maine, and I was so thrilled that someone in Kenya (not from the US or Europe) actually knew about Maine! 

Some visual reminders of home:

While hiking Mt. Kenya a few months ago, I spotted a Sugarloaf  sticker at the peak!

And I even found a Nairobi matatu showing its loyalty to the great state of Maine.  Usually references to God or Bob Marley grace the outside of matatus, but not this one! I wonder who the Portland Pirates fan is?!?!

Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo - views from the field

Each morning at 7:45, the resettlement officers head to one of the three refugee camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo) to interview refugees and prepare their applications for resettlement.  The majority of those being assisted by UNHCR's resettlement group are refugees who arrived in 1991/1992.  The number of the 1991/1992 arrivals is high, so a lottery-type system is used to evenly distribute the interviews among the different camps and housing blocks within each camp.  Many children of the 1991/1992 arrivals were brought to the camps as babies or were born in the camps.  Could you imagine not knowing what life was like outside a refugee camp?

 

Waiting to be called for baby registration at the UNHCR Dagahaley Field Office.

















The entry gate for the UN vehicles.



The entry/waiting area for those awaiting resettlement interviews.

  



















My caseload generally focuses on those refugees with serious medical issues that can be treated in a resettlement country (and have a likely outcome of an improved way of life).  Many of the medical cases come from refugees living at Dagahaley Refugee Camp, so that is where I have spent a majority of my time.  I've gotten to know the interpreters and other staff working in Dagahaley, and they are a friendly bunch! 


One of my favorite Somali interpreters, Sulub, outside the field office in Dagahaley.

 

View of the resettlement offices at Dagahaley Field Office from the entry gate.

The largest camp, and the noisiest in terms of field offices, is Ifo Refugee Camp.  Because of the large number of refugees that come to the field office in Ifo, things can sometimes get a little heated.  For example, last week the women were protesting the shortage in staff for baby registration.  At first, they just threw stones at the metal gate that separates the waiting area from the field office grounds.  But then I heard the stones hitting the walls and windows of our offices!  Security was quick to settle the women down.  The following day, students were the ones to protest.  This time, it was a lack of teachers in the camp schools that caused the stone-throwing.  No one was hurt and the crowd was again settled down within a few minutes. 

Below are a few photos from the Ifo field office.

View from an interview room looking out at the waiting refugees.



Packed and ready to head back to the compound for lunch!



At 12:30, the vehicles make their way from the camps to the UN compound for lunch.  If you miss the convey, just text the kitchen staff to hold your lunch, surpress your hunger and relax/keep working until the 2:30 convey!

350,000+ refugees and counting...Dadaab, Kenya

Waiting to board the plane at Wilson Airport, Nairobi.

A few weeks ago, early on a Monday morning, I boarded a plane at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport bound for my new home for the next 2 ½ months.   An hour and a half later, we landed on a dusty airstrip 60 km from Somalia.  I stepped off the plane and headed for the row of UN vehicles that would drive us to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Sub-office in Dadaab, Kenya.

In early April, my supervisor in Nairobi asked me if I was interested in doing resettlement work at a refugee camp – and not just any refugee camp, but the largest in the world.  The idea immediately excited me.  But, I was also hesitant to leave Nairobi; I enjoyed the work, my friends and the comfort of knowing a place well.  I thought back to when I was planning my trip to Nairobi (about a year ago), and how I had hoped to have the opportunity to visit to a refugee camp while in Kenya.  However, I wasn’t expecting to spend several months there.  Now, four weeks into the experience, I can say that any less time than 2 ½ months would not be enough.   It has been an amazing experience so far.

UNHCR’s Dadaab office serves three refugee camps in the area – Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo.  The three camps were built to handle the influx of refugees in 1991-1992 who were fleeing the civil war in Somalia.  The camps were intended to house about 90,000 refugees in total.  Unfortunately, the situation in Somalia has not improved in the last 20 years, and the population of the camps is now over 350,000! Approximately 10,000 refugees are still arriving every month.

The camps are located a 10-20 drive from the UN compound.  There are no paved roads in sight – the closest pavement is in Garissa, about 100 km to the west.  With little rain in this part of the world, it's a dusty ride! 

 Driving down the road from the UN Compound to Dagahaley Refugee Camp

Each morning at 7:45, the UN vehicles leave the compound in a convey with a police escort.  There have not been any recent incidents, but the proximity to Somalia and the presence of bandits make the police escort a necessary precaution.   Although there is not much vehicular traffic on the roads, there are plenty of four-legged obstacles, such as cows, donkeys, goats, camels and warthogs.

My weekday mornings are spent interviewing refugees at one of the field offices in the three camps.  My caseload focuses on refugees with serious medical needs, regardless of their date of arrival in Kenya.  I see children brought into the office in wheelbarrows, refugees with missing limbs and albino Somalis.  Albinos are  particularly at risk in the camps because of the strong sun and those wanting to use albino organs for witchcraft.  

Afternoons are spent back at the office in the UN compound, writing up the cases I interviewed that morning.  There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m barely scratching the surface.  But each day is extremely rewarding. 

Driving past Ifo Refugee Camp, view of some of the homes in the camp.

The Dadaab UNHCR Sub-office is located in a compound with several other relief agencies.  It is the largest of the agencies in the compound, with its own gym, tennis court, residences, offices, bar and dining hall.  Below are a few pictures from inside the UNHCR compound. 

View from my office into the resettlement/protection section.

The gym - inside view.

The gym - outside view.

 
My home – the left half.

A "street” in the UN compound.  It’s recommended that you stay on the paths so that you don’t encounter camel spiders, scorpions or spitting cobras!

The mess/cafeteria.