Kakuma

Kakuma is a town is located in Turkana District, in the northwestern region of Kenya. Kakuma is said to be a Swahili word for nowhere, epitomizing the seclusion of the area.

Kakuma Refugee Camp, block 2

The town has hosted the Kakuma Refugee Camp since 1992. This camp serves over 70,000 refugees who fled wars in neighboring countries.^{[citation needed]} A majority are from southern Sudan, some from Somalia and the last major group from Ethiopia. Other groups include Burundians, Congolese, Eritreans and Ugandans.

Living in Kakuma as a refugee is a very difficult experience. Dust storms frequently pass through the area. Malnutrition, communicable disease outbreaks, and malaria are all ongoing problems, while donor support has faltered due to conflicts in other parts of the world. Many of the refugees hope to leave Kakuma for resettlement in another country such as the USA. For example, the "Lost Boys of Sudan" were a special group who were resettled from the camp to the U.S. in recent years. With the recent end of the civil war in Sudan between the SPLA and other southern forces against the government in Khartoum many are hopeful more Sudanese refugees will finally be able to return home.^{[citation needed]}

The Kakuma Refugee Camp was the location of a large project from 1995 to 2002 sponsored by Solar Cookers International through which thousands of families began using solar panel cookers to cook their daily meals. Many families had been trading some of their meager food rations for firewood to use to cook what little food they had left. The project was organized such that a group of refugee women were trained to be trainers. These women would then be paid to hold regular classes to teach other women to solar cook and to provide them with a cooker. The cookers were made locally in Nairobi for US$2.00 each.^{[citation needed]}

At Kakuma Mission Hospital, two women waiting in line for treatment of their children's severe malutrition came to blows when one perceived the other as cutting into line.

External links

• Background of the town
• Suncookers
• A book about Sudanese refugees who went from Kakuma to the U.S.
• Solar Cooking Breakthrough in Kenyan Refugee Camp
• David Morse article (2006) on general situation in Kakuma and successful HIV/AIDS prevention