From refugee to lifesaver: Farah Hassan’s journey of hope in Dadaab

Friday, June 20, marked World Refugee Day. The occasion sought to celebrate and honour refugees from around the world, and draw attention to both their life struggles and successes.

One of the biggest refugee complexes in the world is in Dadaab, Kenya. It was established in 1991 as a transit camp for those fleeing the civil war in Somalia. Today, it’s home to over 420,000 registered refugees across three main camps.

Conditions here are desperate, as access to food, water, and proper sanitation has become increasingly challenging. Despite the enactment of legislation that promised to improve the integration and economic inclusion of refugees, many of those sheltered here can’t leave, and even if they did, they have nothing to return to in their home countries.

It is an endless cycle of extreme poverty and hopelessness for many of Dadaab's residents.

One man, however, in the Dagahaley camp, is changing this narrative. Farah Hassan, a family man living as a refugee after fleeing from Somalia in the early 90s, has built a bright career and is giving back to his community.

Speaking on his family’s decision to move to the camp when he was a young boy, he said; “Life wasn’t really simple; people were fleeing from their homes. Like now, we would not have anything remaining for us [in Somalia] because the family had livestock, but after the droughts and the civil war, we could not stay there now because life would not be easy for us.”

His story resonates with thousands of Dagahaley residents, as many families fled around this time.

Farah went through both his primary and secondary school education as a refugee in the camp. He even trained to be a primary school teacher, which helped him provide for his immediate and extended family.

He then got a golden opportunity – a scholarship with NGO Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, who run the local hospital in the camp. He could now pursue a career he longed for in the health sector.

“Now, I work with MSF as an auxiliary nurse in the nutrition department, and I work as a registrar,” Farah said.

His job often revolves around breastfeeding mothers and children under the age of five.

As a member of the community, Farah and other refugee doctors offer a unique perspective when dealing with their patients, as they know precisely what the families are enduring and what they need, as he is one of them.

Jeremiah, the deputy medical referent for MSF, believes the refugee doctors’ work is invaluable.

“You find that at the end of the day, they live with this community. Farah will be able to follow this child until the household level, so they act as our ambassadors on the ground in the community in which we’re living in,” he said.

The scholarship was an opportunity that doesn’t come by often, but he firmly grasped it with both hands.

He has a stable job and crucial skills that can be deployed anywhere, when given the opportunity, and hopes to get a work permit to leave the camp and progress his career.