Day 1 Long Road to the Camps

We travelled by road to Dadaab, which is now the world’s largest refugee camp in the world. It’s about an eight and a half hour, journey from Nairobi – and the place you start couldn’t be more different than the one you arrive at. After you leave the bustling metropolis of Nairobi, it’s a long journey of increasingly less and less greenery. We arrived at Garrissa to hire a security escort and to travel to Dadaab.The road was bumpy as hell with only just rocks and sand and took about 3 hours to get there.

The closer you get to Dadaab, the drier and less hospitable it gets – and the more the animal carcasses start to appear.

As soon as we arrived in Daghaley camp weary and tired we unpacked all our gear in mud built house. We were then immediately taken to the new extension of IFO camps, which, though it was less than 2 weeks old, was already home to around 12,000 people. Qaaf Aid staff was attempting to locate community leaders in the hope of organizing a voucher systems for the new arrivals there, so we could distribute the aid we had purchased for distribution. The community leaders welcomed us as an NGO from the UK and thanked us for coming to the aid of some the worlds poorest and most needy He spoke of the poor conditions there and what the government of Kenya is doing to help. It was an eye-opening experience. After the high-stress of having only a fortnight to collect funds and prep for this trip, it was so important to be reminded about why we’re out here, and what important work Qaaf Aid is doing in this region and around the world.

Day 2 Preparation

From early that morning vouchers were being distributed to the new arrivals as the 42 tons of foodstuffs containing Pasta,Rice.Maize,Flour cooking oil ,Sugar, powdered milk were ready to arrive around mid afternoon, It was a moment of happiness and sadness, knowing food, the resource we take for granted at home is a lifeline here.

All day our team of Seven(Driver and guide included) and thirty or so local helpers unloaded and packed the food parcels in a secure compound working through the night ready for the distribution on the following day.

 

Day 3 Let the Aid Commence

Today is a big day for us as all our aid distribution begins.

The security risk is high here and all NGOs in the area have been advised on safety when delivering aid- especially to the aid distributors who will be facing situations where there is simply not enough food supplies to give to families who are literally starving to death. The stark reality is that all aid is being distributed with armed security officers because the need is so great and what is being offered is so meagre in comparison.

Around the 6 .30 we said Bismillah and started the distribution. Collectively as a team you could feel a heavy sense of sadness as they handed over the bags of food to the women. Each food parcel consisted of Pasta, Rice. Maize, Flour cooking oil, Sugar, powdered milk to feed a family for up to 4 weeks .Our helpers mentioned they have never known of a distribution such as ours as they were so many different varieties of food items on offer. Normally they’d be lucky if they received two or three items at one time.

This regalvanised us and transformed us a team and we worked tirelessly through the day knowing our efforts had not been in vain.

The last sacks were handed out around 4 pm and we felt a sense of happiness that everything went according to plan. Around 6 we retreated to our accommodation ready to break our iftar.

Alhamdulillah Just over 1800 families had benefited from our distribution

 

 

 Day 4 Visiting a local School

The next morning we visited a school for new arrivals which was in urgent need for desks as most the pupils sat on the floor the structure was in a dilapidated state and needed urgent renovation the kids had no desks and sat on the floor in the extreme heat I found it a wonder that they could concentrate in such conditions. The teacher explained to us the many obstacles they face and how difficult it was to teach these children on a zero budget and the strong desire of refugee children to learn. They flood through the gates all morning clearly wanting to learn, but they are also drawn by the free lunch. Even with a full ration from World Food Programme they are still hungry and it’s a difficult reminder that we need to expand the basic education program in the camp, including the feeding component, but don’t yet have the funds necessary to do so.

We knew it was our last day in the camps so we hurriedly made arrangements to have these desks made from a local wood worker. A total of 30 desks and 180 chairs were arranged. The smile on the teacher Mr Sanbul Aden was pleasing to say the least. We offered to make arrangements of further help and fundraise, once we were back in the UK.

As we leave to pack our things and to make the long journey back to Nairobi. We can’t help but wonder how lucky we are, at least we can leave Dadaab the refugees, who are here to escape from the drought, aren’t so lucky.

The world needs to respond now and we need them to do this now. Waiting any longer means more children will continue to die.

Day 5 Travelling to Mombasa

Around 5.30 we head of to Mombasa to visit an Orphanage welfare Group .Which we had heard about from 2 sisters from Manchester who had visited a couple of months earlier.
They had recounted to us how it was struggling to provide adequate provisions for the 38 boys and 42 girls in its care. We arrive in Mikandani in Mombasa and travelled through the industrial area of Mombasa following and passing large trucks hauling all sort of things. Everyone drives on diesel here, it really smells. We tried breathing onto our sleeves for some of the ride, but it didn’t help much. Around 2 pm we reached the Orphanage. Some of the children were milling about outside, others playing with a torn football.

Upon arrival we are greeted by Arafat, whose mother Mrs. Fatima Ahmed Abeid (known as mum to the children) is the director of the Orphanage. Our first day at the orphanage was quite a shock. We were shown around the children’s living area the young boys have separate living areas to the girls ’the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are basic and that is an understatement to describe the rooms. They had a bunk bed shared by 5 and in some cases 6 children but nothing more in the rooms. No pictures on the walls, no other furniture, nothing child-like in sight. The standard of cleanliness throughout the rooms was very low and this was reflected in the children’s appearance.
The kids were not shy; almost straightaway they were hugging us and holding our hands. It was quite obvious that physical contact is something they lack in their everyday lives. A lot of the older kids were fasting but amazingly some of the smaller children were too.

These little ones have no parents, and it is only the care and attention of the Orphanage welfare Group Members under supervision of Mama Fatima which provides them with clothing and food and a bed to sleep on... They are some of the happiest children who have seen the hardest of lives, and have little hope of any sort of existence without the orphanage.

Before we leave the Orphanage we collect all the clothes sizes of the children knowing Eid was only a few days away.

Day 6 Buying eid clothes

The next morning we set off to the local shopping area in Mombasa armed with all the sizes of the children, we barter as hard as we can with the traders to purchase the best quality clothes. Eventually after about 5 hours of nonstop bartering and moving from one stall to another we manage to tick of the last of the sizes we needed. We also bought 5 leather balls and a load of skipping ropes for the little girls. We arrive at the Orphange just before Maghrib and find some well wishers from a local business had dropped off food for Iftar that evening. Later we gather all the children round and start distributing the Eid clothes.

We couldn’t help but notice the smiles on the children’s faces, they were so happy.

Before we left we made a list of the improvement that needed to be carried out and we promised we would file a full report and try to help the Orphans as much we can.

 

Day 7 Coming Home

The next morning we left for the airport around 6, as we had an early plane to catch. We had mixed feelings we felt sad that so much more needed to be done but also a sense of achievement that our efforts had come to something. As we waved goodbye to the flat brown savannah of Kenya we felt happy to be going home to our families and loved ones.

We hope that everyone who reads will think about how they can help the children of Dadaab and the Orphanage in Mombasa by volunteering, sponsoring the Orphans or fundraising. Please get in touch if you can help in any way you can.

 

 ’Every Charitable Act Is A Stepping Stone Towards Paradise’

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