Refugee and Aspiring Journalist

Lest we fatigue of deadlines, or otherwise lament our lot in life (and we all do from time to time) it's good to have perspective on our fortune and assets.

Here is an a sobering but uplifting story, part of the Wairimu Gitani's series of profiles, "Tales of success from Dadaab, world's biggest refugee camp." published by the BBC World Service. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15158976

According to Gitani, "Dadaab refugee camp in north-eastern Kenya was set up in 1991 as a temporary solution to conflict in the Horn of Africa. Twenty years later its numbers are still growing and for many of the camp's younger residents it is the only home they have known. The camp was built to house 90,000 refugees but its population is now broaching half a million people and with drought and famine ravaging East Africa, more arrive each day. Despite the desperation some residents are battling the odds, determined to make a success of life as a refugee."

Here is an excerpt from the profile of Moulid Iftn Hujale, an aspiring journalist, recalling his arrival at the camp without his parents:

"But there we found peace, there was no gunfire and there was some sort of tranquillity," he says.

He was able to go to school and focused his energy on his studies. Three years later his mother made it to the camp. It was a dramatic moment, he remembers.

"My younger sister came to me in the school. I could tell that she had good news and immediately I saw my mother running through the main gate."

"My mum's tears were like water flooding and made my uniform wet."