Kakuma
Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to host unaccompanied minors who had fled the war in Sudan, Somalia and from camps in Ethiopia. It was estimated that there were 12,000 "lost boys and girls" who had fled here via Egypt in 1990/91.
Kakuma is situated in the second poorest region in Kenya and as a result of this poverty, there are ongoing tensions between the refugees and the local community that has occasionally resulted in violence. Compared to the wider region, the Kakuma camp has better health facilities and a higher percentage of children in full-time education, which resulted in a general notion that the refugees were better off than the locals. The host community is composed largely of nomadic pastoralists who stick to their traditions and do not co-operate with refugees. Camp is becoming a normal part of the regional socio-economic landscape and a part of livelihood options available in the region. Kakuma is one of two large refugee camps in Kenya; the second and bigger one is Dadaab.
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 people in Kakuma are long-term refugees, living in hopelessness and desperation. The situation is particularly bad for young people. Many of the refugees hope to leave Kakuma for third country resettlement in another country. For example, the "Lost Boys of Sudan" were a special group who were resettled from the camp to the United States.
Climate
Semi-arid climate with average temperatures reaching 40 °C and only drop to the low 30's at night: dry and windswept, dust storms. Kakuma is wedged between two dry river-beds, and the occasional rain can lead to flooding.The only plants that survive are thorny bushes and a few flat-topped trees. As agriculture is almost impossible this results in fierce competition among different local groups for ownership of cattle. Refugees are not allowed to keep animals, due to the potential for conflict between the refugees and the local Turkana people. This camp was made because of the Lost boys even though they were not all boys.
Camp structure
The complex comprises four parts, and is managed by the Kenyan government and the Kenyan Department of Refugee Affairs in conjunction with the UNHCR. As of December 2020, the site hosts around 200,000 people, mostly refugees from the civil war in South Sudan.Staff members are housed outside the camp in three large compounds with various amenities.
The 5pm curfew at the camp means no help available for refugees after 5pm. Don Bosco has special role in the camp because they are the only workers who can help refugees in emergency situations at night.
Each ethnic community occupies a separate and somewhat discrete location. Each neighbourhood built its own market stands, coffee shops, library, and places of worship.
Aid agencies
The International Rescue Committee is responsible for health services in the camp, the Lutheran World Federation is responsible for providing primary education, early childhood development, child protection and sustainable livelihoods programs, the National Council of Churches of Kenya provides housing, the Jesuit Refugees Services provide education, Don Bosco, an Italian NGO, runs a vocational training centre; Rädda Barnen has been the lead agency responsible for providing primary and some secondary education. FilmAid Kenya is the core communication agency in the refugee operations, though it also serves the host communities in Kakuma and other parts of Turkana West sub-county. Working collaboratively with other agencies, FilmAid Kenya provides key messages in the areas of protection, education, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, food assistance and nutrition using such media as film, radio broadcasts, radio talk shows, mobile information caravan services, participatory educative theatre and FilmAid's Virtual Distribution Network. ORAM provides support to the LGBTQIA+ community within the camp.For many years, the United States Agency for International Development was a major funder of humanitarian work at Kakuma. The cuts to USAID by the Trump Administration in 2025 caused starvation and despair in the Kakuma camp.
Housing
New arrivals normally receive one piece of reinforced plastic 4 by 5 meters with which to construct their shelter. The plastic, while providing an excellent waterproof layer, is not self-supporting, nor does it provide any insulation. They need long supple pieces of wood to make the frame and grass to complete the shelter walls of the hut and provide some thermal insulation. Housing is built of mud brick, wood, or cane extracted from the surrounding territories and new or scavenged canvas. The other half is thatched roof huts, tents, and mud abodes.Food
Except for the tiny minority who were able to establish shops, the vast majority of the population of Kakuma is completely dependent on the food rations supplied for their survival. The World Food Programme provides a food ration to all the refugees once a month based on the minimal dietary requirement of 2,100 calories/person/day. WFP is responsible for deciding the amount of food to be distributed and for providing it in the form of staples. In 2011, the WFP provided food to 98.3% of the registered refugees, averaging 2,076 calories/person/day.The main problem with the food rations is that they do not necessarily provide the elements necessary for a basic diet. Furthermore, it is insensitive to cultural differences and household needs, leading to refugees considering food assistance as degrading – where they are expected to be grateful for inappropriate provisions. Moreover, when, as is frequent, WFP is unable to provide all of these staples, the calories are distributed through whatever commodity is available. There have been times when all of the 1900 calories were supplied in maize flour. In 1997, refugees had not received any beans or lentils for eight weeks, their only potential source of protein.
When the maize is too dry it needs to be milled/ground. Fuel is needed for transporting them to the mills for grinding the corn. Cash is inevitable to pay mills to grind the maize ration into flour. When there is a firewood shortage the dried beans cannot be eaten as they cannot be cooked without firewood or other fuel. Cash is needed for buying coal and firewood. Through its agreement with WFP, UNHCR has accepted responsibility for providing additional foods which will supply the micro-nutrients. A large-scale micronutrient powder program targeting the entire population of the camp was initiated in February 2009 for 17 months.
WFP expects that refugees will trades some food received. A thriving ration resale market operated directly in front of one of the main food distribution centres. More often tolerated than not, ration resale periodically became the subject of active policing, including police sweeps that forced ration sellers to clear the area, particularly when these practices become too blatant and visible. Since the Turkana people do not have any food, they do odd jobs and buy maize and beans from refugees.
Since 2015, the WFP has introduced digital cash transfers, i.e. sends 100 KShi in cash per person/ month through a mobile phone to replace part of the food rations. The cash can only be redeemed for food. This gives refugees more freedom to decide what they will eat and is also good for the local economy.
Security
There is a Kenyan police station located just outside the entrance of the camp. Kenyan police do not typically operate in the camp after dusk. Kenyan police sweep the major roads at dusk, requiring all non-refugees that they encounter to leave the camp. Within the camp, LWF has responsibility for security. LWF employ a number of Kenyans, mainly ex-military personnel who patrol the camp and all issues relating to security have to be reported to them. There is a 120-member force of local guards, drawn from both the refugee and local populations. 'Police stations' which are staffed around the clock and which provide a base for night-time patrols have been constructed. Refugee residents have their own guards and patrols after nightfall and in many of the residential groups, guards carry machetes and makeshift bows on their patrols. There is a Protection Area within the camp, which is a fenced enclosure accommodating around 120 families. It is intended as a temporary solution when a refugee's safety cannot be ensured in the camp, so almost no services are provided. As a result of several Turkana thefts and intrusions into domestic spaces inside the camp there is increased fencing especially along the edges of each residential group.- In 2014 at least fourteen people have been killed in fighting between South Sudanese refugees: officials say the fighting, following the alleged rape of a young girl, has divided Dinka and Nuer residents against each other.
- There were collective punishments after enclosures built for distributing rations and counting refugees were destroyed by unidentified refugees. Because of that food distribution was cut off for 21 days and 14 days, respectively and the 'incentives' paid to employed refugees were withdrawn. After these tensions some refugee leaders were invited to a meeting with UNHCR representatives in the next bigger town. They attended believing it would provide an opportunity to sort out the misunderstandings between the refugees and the agencies. However these leaders were arrested, charged with incitement, destruction of property and theft of building materials. They spend two months in prison and the following court hearings had to be paid by the refugee community. They were acquitted for this charge but could not get compensation for being in prison because of UNHCRs jurisdictional immunity.