Abdullahi Mire grew up successful the sprawling Dadaab exile analyzable successful northeastern Kenya with its population today of much than 240,000 registered refugees, mostly from Somalia.
The UN exile bureau (UNHCR) coordinates operations determination unneurotic with partners, relying besides connected the enactment of the Kenyan Government and big communities.
The bulk of the population, astir 56 per cent according to 2020 figures, are children.
At that constituent determination were implicit 60,000 students enrolled up to secondary schoolhouse level, but contempt that, the request for teachers, supplies and schoolroom space, has agelong outstripped supply, starring to mediocre acquisition outcomes.
Educational pioneer
Of those managing to implicit secondary schoolhouse lone a tiny fig person been capable to transportation connected into tertiary education.
Mr. Mire spent 23 years surviving successful the Dadaab analyzable himself, from the aboriginal 1990s, and yet went connected to postgraduate with a diploma successful journalism and nationalist relations successful 2013 from Kenya’s Kenyatta University.
After moving for the UN migration bureau IOM, successful Somalia, specialising successful the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of erstwhile combatants, helium realised that without being literate, galore were being brainwashed and radicalized.
Life-changer
His acquisition led him to commencement the Refugee Youth Education Hub (RYEH) successful 2018, focusing connected exile acquisition and younker development.
“I privation to alteration the lives of exile children and younker surviving successful Daadab”, helium told the UN Assistance Mission successful Somalia (UNSOM) successful 2020.
“The lone mode to bash that is done education. If you springiness prime acquisition for these children oregon youths, their lives volition beryllium improved for good,” helium added. “For societies to progress, particularly the ones recovering from decades of conflict, acquisition indispensable beryllium a priority. I deliberation it’s the midwife of bid and stability, if not more.”
Personifying change
Speaking up of the grant announcement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said: “Abdullahi Mire is living impervious that transformative ideas tin outpouring from wrong displaced communities.
“He has shown large resourcefulness and tenacity successful strengthening the prime of exile education.”
UNHCR noted that aft increasing up successful the Dadaab camps, Mr. Mire had resettled to Norway, “but a yearning to service his assemblage drew him back”.
His acquisition hub has opened 3 libraries successful the camps – stocked with donated books – and expanded learning opportunities for tens of thousands of displaced children and youth.
“The triumph is not for maine alone,” said Mr. Mire, 36. “It is for each the volunteers I enactment with… It is for the children successful the schools.”
Regional winners
UNHCR besides announced determination winners who being honoured this year:
• Elizabeth Moreno Barco (Americas): a quality rights defender who advocates for communities affected by equipped interior struggle successful Colombia
• Asia Al-Mashreqi (Middle East & North Africa): laminitis and chairperson of the Sustainable Development Foundation, which has assisted astir 2 cardinal individuals successful Yemen affected by conflict
• Abdullah Habib, Sahat Zia Hero, Salim Khan and Shahida Win (Asia-Pacific): 4 Rohingya storytellers documenting the experiences of stateless Rohingya refugees
• Lena Grochowska and Władysław Grochowski (Europe): a Polish mates whose edifice concatenation and instauration supply structure and grooming to refugees
The awards volition beryllium presented astatine a ceremonial successful Geneva connected 13 December astatine the Global Refugee Forum 2023.
Hosted by the salient US tv writer Ann Curry, the lawsuit volition showcase the winners’ enactment and diagnostic performances by Lous and the Yakuza, MIYAVI and Ricky Kej. It volition besides beryllium livestreamed.
The awards are made imaginable done enactment from the Governments of Norway and Switzerland, IKEA Foundation, and the City and Canton of Geneva.
They are named aft the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen.
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