Families arrive in Dadaab, fleeing drought and conflict

This story first appeared in the Star newspaper

Markabo Ali, 37, is mother to eight children. She used to live in Baidoa, Somalia, but left because of the prolonged drought. Now, she lives with her five daughters and young sister at Dadaab refugee camp, just across the border in Kenya. She sits in a small makeshift hut made from branches and plastic sheets, in an area of Ifo camp for new arrivals who are waiting to be assigned accommodation.

It’s a hot, sunny afternoon but the long drought has recently been replaced by rain and floods. Markabo’s hut provides some shelter from the sun but looks unlikely to keep the rain out. Nearby, children swim in a new lake where the road used to be – this part of the camp is now only accessible to large vehicles such as land cruisers and trucks.

“We came from Somalia six months ago because of the drought. I couldn’t get work or find food for my children,” Markabo explains. “I heard there were organisations supporting families in Dadaab. The journey here was tough. We walked for seven days to get here. I came with five daughters and three sons, although my sons have now gone back. Their father stayed behind.”

When the family arrived in Dadaab after their 600km trek, Markabo was surprised by the level of support she received. This came both from agencies like UNICEF and the kindness of strangers. “It was better here than I expected,” she recalls. “The people we came with and our neighbours in the camp helped us. We also got help from organisations distributing supplies. When we got here, my children were sick and malnourished. They were taken to hospital and treated for free. Now they are doing OK.”

The family was identified by a child protection volunteer from Terre des hommes, trained by UNICEF, because Habibo was travelling without her parents. Her case was reviewed by a panel that assesses the best interests of the child, which decided that she could remain with Markabo. The family received food vouchers worth 6,000 Kenya shillings (around US $45) per month. Within two weeks of arrival, Habibo was enrolled in school and given a kit containing a uniform, bag, books and pens. She also received counselling and a dignity kit, including soap and sanitary pads.

“I’m glad that I can now get food and water and go to school, unlike in my home country,” Habibo says. “In Somalia, we were always hungry. Terre des hommes talked to me about how to live in the refugee camp and where to go if I need help. They visit me regularly. I feel happy here.”

Overlapping crises

The drought that recently affected the Horn of Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – was the worst in four decades. It was driven by climate change and saw five consecutive poor or failed rainy seasons from 2020 to 22. Many families lost their cattle, crops and livelihoods, putting children’s lives at risk from malnutrition. Then, the first rainy season of 2023 went to the other extreme, with above average rain and flash floods across the same region.

On top of the drought, conflict and insecurity also drove people across the border from Somalia to Kenya. Many displaced families ended up in the Dadaab refugee complex, one of the largest in the world. It is managed by UNHCR and is currently home to over 370,000 refugees and asylum seekers, more than half of them children.

“We saw an influx of new arrivals between September 2022 and February 2023, mainly from south and central Somalia” UNHCR Head of Dadaab Office Guy Avognon explains. “They had already been facing hardship because of the drought and were surviving on the bare minimum. Then, there was an offensive against Al Shabaab and in response they went on a rampage, ransacking villages and taking people’s remaining cattle and resources. That drove more families over the border to Dadaab. At UNHCR, we are managing the refugee camps, working with the host communities, and resettling people where we can. But the needs are immense, and we have a chronic lack of funds.”

UNICEF works in Dadaab in coordination with UNHCR and the World Food Programme, which handles food distribution. With funding from the EU (ECHO) and the Netherlands (Prospects), we are supporting children in the areas of nutrition, health, education and child protection. This includes identifying and treating children with malnutrition, vaccinating them against cholera and providing safe water supplies for families. On education, we are constructing classrooms in the camps, training teachers and providing learning materials. And on child protection, we are doing case management of vulnerable and at-risk children, including finding foster families where needed.

In Ifo camp, UNICEF supports Terre des hommes (Tdh) to work with vulnerable children like Habibo. “Children in the camp face a myriad of child protection issues and this is further exacerbated by their being separated or unaccompanied,” Terre des hommes Case Worker Joseph Macharia says. “These include child marriage, female genital mutilation, association with armed groups, teenage pregnancy, child labour, out of school children and children in contact with the law. UNICEF has supported us with training of case workers, an online case management tool, cash vouchers and dignity kits. This helps us support children in need.”

High-level visit

Last month, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell travelled to Dadaab, to meet newly arrived refugees from Somalia at Ifo Refuge Camp, including Markabo’s family. She also visited a health centre providing health and nutrition services for children, with support from UNICEF, and spoke to families receiving child protection services.“It’s been a terrible situation because of two things,” Catherine said. “One, the drought and two, different areas of conflict. People have been driven from their homes. It’s just been devastating for them. They come here with virtually nothing. The international community is trying to help them, but the needs are really immense.”

One of the children Catherine met was Mahat Mohamed, 14, an unaccompanied boy from Somalia. In a covered area next to the registration centre for new arrivals, he told her how he had come to the border in a lorry and then followed other people walking into the camp, where he lived on his own until he was identified by a UNICEF-supported child protection volunteer.

“Mahat told me that his father sent him here by himself because he didn’t want him to be recruited into Al-Shabab,” Catherine said. “Thankfully, a woman took him in as a foster child and is trying to take care of him. But he doesn’t have his family. He doesn’t have his dad, his sisters or brothers. His mother died in Somalia. So, it’s hard to see what the future looks like for him and it’s really worrying.”

With the arrival of rains across the Horn of Africa marking the end of three years of drought, children in Kenya and Somalia finally have a brighter future to look forward to. But this will not come quickly or easily. It will take at least a year for children’s nutrition situation to recover. This is due to the time needed for crops and pasture to grow, animals to feed and breed, and families’ livelihoods to recover.

For Markabo, the relief she felt on arriving at Dadaab is tempered by anxiety about her family’s future. “It’s not easy to leave your home out of hunger, but I felt safe when I came here,” she says, before putting her young daughter down for a nap in their makeshift home. “I’m very grateful for the support I’ve received, but I’m worried about what will happen to us next.”