After spending over a month in Dadaab with FilmAid International as a visiting teaching artist, Ryan Jones attempted to read Somali from a script for a Cholera prevention video the team was filming. The results were not good.
Watch the video on Dadaab Stories
Produced by FilmAid International in late July of 2011, a critical juncture in the Somali famine crisis, A Helping Hand is a short documentary film about Ibrahim and his family of seven who wait outside a reception center for newly arrived refugees in Dadaab refugee camp to be provided basic assistance. Ibrahim and his family, like thousands of others who arrive daily at the camp, are escaping the devastating famine in Somalia, the result of the drought gripping the Horn of Africa.
Mohamed Rage talks about his strict upbringing at the hands of his mother, and how now that he has children of his own, he appreciates what his parents did for him.
Mohammed Abdi Rage shares happy memories from growing up in Dadaab Refugee Camp.
Oxfam Ambassador Scarlett Johansson visited Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya in October 2011. Here is her report from Day 1 of her visit.
Oxfam Ambassador Scarlett Johansson visited Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya in October 2011. Here is her report from Day 2 of her visit.
Animation made by the students of Friends Primary School in Ifo.
Security for both refugees and aid workers is always an issue in Dadaab. Canadian network Global News reports on the 2012 kidnapping and recovery of a group of humanitarians from the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Paul Mugambi, who lost his eyesight in 1997 when he was caught in the middle of two other people fighting, now works for Handicap International as an advocate for people living with disabilities in Dadaab Refugee camp.
In September 2012 Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected president of Somalia in the country’s first major election since civil war erupted in 1991. Thousands of miles away, in Nashville, TN, a group of resettled Somali refugees gathered to celebrate the milestone and show support for their homeland.
With thousands of refugees arriving daily in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, the spreading of life-saving information has become more challenging than ever. FilmAid is in Dadaab, producing multimedia projects and partnering with other agencies to communicate the information that is needed most to a large and diverse population.
Nashville, Tennessee is home to one of the largest populations of resettled refugees, but just because they’re out of the camp, doesn’t mean life is easy. The Center for Refugees and Immigrants of Tennessee is there to help ease newly resettled refugees into American life.
Dear Mr. Peace brings together the vibrant voices of refugees in a call-out to action for Peace One Day, a day for individuals to become part of a global commitment toward community action and life-saving activities. The video, starring the Dadaab All Stars and local camp community was made in a record seven days, right from song composition to the final cut.
Refugee Abdirashid Abdullahi takes us on a tour of the thriving marketplace in Ifo, one of the camps that makes up Dadaab refugee camp.
Medical problems, both physical and mental, are just as common in a refugee camp. You might not find a hospital with cable TV, but thanks to organizations like International Rescue Committee (IRC), the refugees of Hagadera camp in Dadaab are receving top-notch medical treatment.
'The Gym' follows the story of Yusef who runs the Dagahaley Fitness Centre, Dadaab camp's only gym. Arriving at the camp in 1992 at three years old, Yusef, started the gym to foster healthy living for those in his community.
Buranpur is a poetic prayer from a Somali mother, calling for an end to violence and suffering, and the bestowing of peace and mercy on her people.
In Dadaab, many medical options and materials are simply not available, but that doesn’t stop individuals and organizations from getting inventive in order to help make life more comfortable for those in need. This video by Handicap International demonstrates how an upper limb prosthesis was fashioned out of a plastic bottle in order to help an amputee bathe more easily.
'Basketball Dreams' shares the story of Ethiopian Meddy Okoth, who has a passion and love for basketball. Once a national player in his home country before being forced to flee from conflict, Medi dreams of sponsorship so he can play abroad and in return help the undiscovered talent of those in his community to be known.
A powerful exploration of the devastating conditions in the Dadaab Refugee Camp. This documentary was produced by refugees in Dadaab through FilmAid’s participatory video program.
Through a documentary lens, ‘Shattered Dreams’ explores the issues around resettlement of refugees which can result from the issuing of Kenyan national I.D. cards. These identification papers are often distributed during election periods in order to boost voter numbers, but can result in the loss of refugee status and serious problems for those issued them.
Eblah is the inspiring youth chairlady in Ifo, one of the five camps in Dadaab’s complex. When she is not acting as a representative voice for her fellow youth, Eblah is writing awareness articles around sexual and gender based violence, helping to transform girls’ education, and helping to run IFO’s computer centre.
Jelle discusses leaving his homeland to come to Dadaab and how he hopes to be resettled to Toronto to hopefully attend university and become a reporter.
The Dadaab Theatre Project is a joint collaboration of The Great Globe Foundation and FilmAid International. The project seeks to recruit ten refugee youth and train them in theater. The project started with the auditions which were held in Ifo Camp.
“Hawo’s Dinner Party: The New Face of Southern Hospitality” is a tool designed to support community leaders — including educators, clergy, law enforcement, public officials and employers — who are helping to integrate newcomers from Muslim-majority countries, often against considerable obstacles. This video was adapted from the documentary film, Welcome to Shelbyville (directed by Kim A. Snyder). For more videos like this, please visit the Shelbyville Multimedia web site.
Opiyo Sufuri from Kotano Youth Group shares his spoken word in ‘We Can Do Better’, a call-out to men around him to support equal opportunity and rights for women.
Suud grew up in Dadaab, spending 20 years of his life there before being resettled to Nashville, TN last June. Listen as Suud explains what challenges and joys befall a newly resettled refugee, and find what profound truths can be drawn from an apartment complex swimming pool.
For new arrivals to the Dadaab refugee camp the Reception Centre is the first port of call. For many this is an extremely stressful and disorientating process, often following a long and difficult journey through the desert. For them, information is vital. All newly arrived refugees in Dadaab now see this video as part of their first official interaction with the camp. The film is available in Somali and Mai Mai dialects and screenings are conducted by trained facilitators who are able to answer questions following the session.
In this emotive poem, 18 yr old Koswar Asad Warsame, questions the true meaning of home. Forced to flee from her country as a child, Koswar questions suffering and homelessness and finds an answer in the future.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visits the world’s largest refugee camp, overcrowded with 285,000 mostly Somali refugees on the Kenyan border.
To cope with the growing numbers of Somali refugees arriving at Dadaab in northern Kenya, UNHCR has begun moving people into a new area called the Ifo Extension.
The long trek to safety in Kenya has been particularly hard for Somali mothers like Maryanne, who was pregnant, and Fatuma, who lost her baby son en route.
The world’s largest refugee complex at Dadaab in northeast Kenya is growing steadily as a fresh wave of Somali civilians flee their country to escape drought or conflict.
They lived through decades of conflict but drought was the final straw, say Somalis who fled their homes for Kenya’s Dadaab camp.
Using traditional Somali song to accompany their movement, the Somali dancers bring a vibrancy to the dusty streets of Dadaab refugee camp.
Koswar Asad Warsame waits for peace, but it never comes. Using her passion for poetry, she calls on the international community to help, asking for peace to prevail.
'A Life Shadow' is a dance group formed by refugees from Ethiopia's Gambella region. The youth group, from the Anywak community, uses dance to empower each other and avoid social ills.
Achan Ngwangi Goch started the Gambella Beadmaker’s project after seeing an opportunity for women in the camp to learn the art of beadmaking. Beadmaking has become a culture in the camp with the groups also providing a social and supportive environment for women. The beadmakers now take orders and sell their unique products abroad.
Liban Rashid Mohammed discusses the lessons he received from his father before he was killed during civil war in Somalia, and how he was separated from the remainder of his family after they were resettled in the United States.
Akune Obang Atale, an Ethopian national, discusses the emotional pain of losing his father during a massacre in 2003 in his home region of Gambella, and how he was separated from his family after the massacre.
Abdi Noor Aden recalls his experiences as a child growing up in Somalia, and his hopes for the future.
Hussein is a film star in Dadaab but his dream is to be a superstar in Hollywood like Schwarzenegger and Stallone. In this short documentary he shares his experience as an actor and his song about violence in the country he once called home.
'The Music Producer' is the story of Omwot Omwot Ogul, full-time music producer, part-time handyman who has a deep passion for music and the DJ community. Using his earnings as a technician to buy equipment, Omwot produces music for others in his community.
Father of four girls, Mohamed Bashir Seikh or ‘Africa’ as he is known to his friends, left his home country and parents in 1992, arriving in Dadaab camp as a toddler. Working with over twenty other residents, his blog ‘Dadaab Refugee Camp’ helps bring the voices of refugees to the online community.
A documentary about what life is like in Dadaab refugee camp for people with disabilities, this film follows Mohamed Omar Khalif, who suffers from blindness.
For new arrivals to Dadaab refugee camp, adjustment takes time. ‘Endless Journey’ is a drama that sheds a light on this difficult beginning. It tells the story of a family that faces the challenge of new laws, culture and camp life.
A video addressing the response from various organizations in Dadaab to the floods brought on by El Niño.
A documentary about the Bula Bakti camp on the outskirts of Dagahaley and some of the hardships experienced there by the new arrivals.
A documentary about the Bosnia Market in Ifo Camp.
'Eclipse in Dadaab' examines the effects of recent security issues in the region on the lives of refugees, safety of humanitarian workers and provision of services. The film was made for screening at an interagency meeting, but the anecdotes within are of interest to anyone with an interest in delivering aid in times of crisis.