Lifeworks Tumaini Girls Secondary School, established in 2014, which hosts refugees from nine countries and Kenyan learners, has emerged as a beacon of hope for vulnerable girls.
TURKANA, Kenya, June 20 (Xinhua) -- For Iragi Akilimali, living in one of the largest refugee camps in Kenya has not diminished her dreams of becoming a doctor, a feat many of her peers would consider difficult.
The 18-year-old student of Lifeworks Tumaini Girls Secondary School fled war in her native Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with her family in 2016 in search of a brighter future in Kenya and ended up at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya's northwestern county of Turkana.
The sprawling refugee camp, which is located about 750 km northwest of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is the country's second-largest, hosting about 288,000 refugees from nine countries, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and the DRC.
Akilimali said her pursuit of academic excellence is driven by the fact that she currently lives with her father, who is unemployed, while her mother is a tailor at the refugee camp.
She said during an interview with Xinhua at the refugee camp Tuesday that her quest to become a doctor is irresistible despite the odds against her. "I feel very fortunate that I am a student in a school that offers quality education and other amenities despite being a refugee," Akilimali said.
She added that her favorite subjects are science courses because they will offer her a pathway to study medicine at the university.
Akilimali, who has two younger siblings, said life as a young female refugee means facing challenges daily.
She observed that teenage pregnancy is now a growing trend in the refugee camp as most parents are unable to provide basic needs for their daughters.
Josephine Nguta, principal of Lifeworks Tumaini Girls Secondary School, said her institution, which hosts refugees from nine countries and Kenyan learners, has emerged as a beacon of hope for vulnerable girls.
The boarding school, which was established in 2014, also acts as a safe space for refugee girls who have encountered any form of gender-based violence.
Currently, all the 376 girls enrolled in school are on full scholarship.
Nguta said the school graduates at least 70 girls annually who are empowered both academically and talent-wise so that they can transform their lives as well as those of their families.
"Our intention is to expand access to quality education for more refugee girls so that they can transform their communities," Nguta said.
Nanduri Sateesh, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR-Kenya) sub-office in Kakuma, said each refugee child deserves access to basic education and life-long learning to secure a better future.
Sateesh disclosed that there are a number of programs by the UNHCR that are designed to enhance access to education for both refugees and host communities.
Another beneficiary of the school is Alakiir Bior Kongor, a South Sudanese Kenyan-born refugee who dreams of becoming either an architect or a computer programmer.
The 20-year-old, whose parents escaped civil strife in her motherland, is currently in her final year of secondary school. She said her parents have since returned to South Sudan, and she now lives alone at Kakuma refugee camp.
"The school has offered me a safe haven where I can pursue my dreams of changing my life and that of my family," Kongor said. ■
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