May 19 10
Palestinian girls nab science prize in Silicon Valley, praise at UN headquarters
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with students from UNRWA school 18 May 2010 – Three Palestinian girls educated in a United Nations-funded school in a refugee camp have made history by winning a top spot at an international science fair in Silicon Valley for a revolutionary walking cane for the blind which they demonstrated today for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. “This is a story about brain power not fire power. You are not only helping the blind, but helping the world to see,” Mr. Ban told the girls during their meeting today at UN Headquarters. “I am very impressed by your…
May 12 10
Here’s what’s gonna be a brief update from East Africa after a busy day full of meetings focusing on how we best bring the access to register and search on the refunite platform to the many refugees living in Nairobi and the Dadaab refugee camp in cooperation with our local partner organizations. Things are progressing well and we can’t wait to get into real action. If things go as we’re currently aiming for, we should be ready with a launch of registration points by mid-June. and don’t worry – we’ll make sure to catch your attention, once we have a…
May 12 10
Internet promotes African freedom
Malou Mangahas of the Philippines, Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Uganda and Brenda Burrell of Zimbabwe accepted the Breaking Borders award on behalf of their organisations in Santiago, Chile. Two African organisations are among the three winners of the inaugural Breaking Borders awards, given by Google and alternative media group Global Voices to those fighting for free expression via the internet and other technology platforms. The winners were announced in Santiago on 6 May at the Global Voices Summit, a gathering of internet activists from 60 countries have gathered. The awards were launched on 3 November 2009, when Google and others marked the…
May 11 10
Bringing Families Together Again in Haiti
30 Apr 2010 – There’s no telling how many children became orphaned or separated by Haiti’s earthquake on January 12, but there are no doubt many thousands. Some have been taken in by caring neighbors or strangers in homes still standing or in the hundreds of makeshift settlements scattered across Port-au-Prince and other devastated cities. Others have been placed in orphanages across the country. Every day, a small army of determined caseworkers hits the rubble-strewn streets to talk to children who have lost their families and to search for parents looking for missing children. This detective work is difficult and exhausting. But on those…
May 7 10
Jambo!
We arrived in Nairobi yesterday, all excited about the coming week. Over the next seven days, we are going to kick-start the East Africa outreach project with our many committed partners here in Kenya. So, we started out today with a fruitful and super-productive planning meeting with our main partners from the Refugee Consortium Kenya (RCK). We made serious progress in drafting a results-oriented plan of action, so that we can start the process of assisting refugees here in Nairobi and in the Dadaab camp in registering onto the platform. We are amazed by the level of engagement and commitment from…
May 6 10
Ethiopia: Refugees and their hosts benefit from UN water and electricity project
Somali refugees queue for water in Kebribeyah camp. 5 May 2010 – In a bid to improve the lives of thousands of Somali refugees and the community hosting them in eastern Ethiopia, the United Nations refugee agency has completed an innovative project to make water and electricity available to residents of the semi-arid region prone to drought. The Jarrar Valley water supply scheme in the Somali region of Ethiopia is using electricity to pump 1.3 million litres of water a day to 51,000 people, including 16,000 refugees from neighbouring Somalia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported yesterday. The project,…
May 3 10
Nairobi: Commission allocates 3 million euros for displaced Somali refugees in Kenyan refugee camps
A tented section of Dadaab refugee camps The European Commission has allocated 3 million euros in humanitarian aid for programmes to support refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camps. Around 267,0000 refugees are currently accommodated in Dadaab, which was designed for just 90,000 people. The refugees have fled Somalia due to the ongoing insecurity caused by two decades conflict. Peter Zangl, the Director General of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), who is currently in Kenya visiting Dadaab, said: “Given the extreme overpopulation of the camp, living conditions have become particularly harsh. In 2009, we witnessed an average arrival of…
Apr 29 10
SOMALIA: From refugee camp to university campus
Young people in Dadaab (Cecila Prete Martinez/IRIN) NAIROBI, 28 April 2010 (IRIN) – They spent most of their lives in crowded refugee camps after their families fled violence in Somalia but now 22 men and six women have won scholarships to study in Canada. “I have waited for this day since 2006 [when he graduated from high school in the Dadaab refugee camp, northern Kenya] and it is finally here. My prayers have been answered,” said Ahmed Farah Nageye. Nageye, now 21, spent most of his life in Dadaab. “My family came here when I was two years old. I…
Apr 28 10
Tanzania welcomes new nationals from refugee settlements
For any family or community, addition of a new member is something that usually brings joy and extra responsibilities. Then imagine what the horde of newly naturalised citizens of Tanzania can do to the East African nation that is already struggling to overcome numerous hurdles on its path to socio-economic development. Thanks to the legacy that the nation’s founder leader Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere handed down to his successors, Tanzania abides by the principle of generosity and care for refugees from other countries. In 1983 Nyerere was awarded the UN Refugee Agency’s Nansen Medal in recognition of Tanzania’s exemplary record…
Apr 27 10
Hard times for Iraqi newcomers
Awatif Albadri and her son, Anas Alhamdani (left), spoke with interpreter Bashier Doss in Chelsea District Court last month concerning her family’s efforts to avoid being evicted. (Pat Greenhouse/ Globe Staff) CHELSEA — Awatif Albadri survived the Iraq War and the deaths of her husband in a car crash and her son by assassination. On an overcast morning last month, nearly a year and a half after arriving here with three children, she was in court trying to avert homelessness. Dressed in a black abaya, she sat outside the hearing room, conferring with her lawyer, landlord, a social worker, and…
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