'The wind can blow this school away': Alsaid's Story

Alsaid is 12 years old and fled to Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya to escape the war in Somalia. Even at such a young age, he knows education is vital for him and the other children at the Camp. Here, Alsaid thanks you, and asks you not to forget them.

“I was in Level 7 at school when we left Somalia. There was war going on, and there were bandits. When they see you, they shoot you. I see one person who has died already.

There were two rebel groups fighting for control of our area. We had to run away from these clashes.

There were burials daily, so many died. I was very scared I would be killed. 

This is why we run away. We boarded a vehicle from Somalia in January 2011. It took two days to reach the border. On the way we were intercepted by bandits. They took all our clothes, and by the time we arrived here we were half naked.

We arrived at Dagahaley camp (part of Dadaab Refugee Camp) where we were registered as new arrivals. As the area was filled up, we had to live on the outskirts. We had to live in the local shelter made from shrubs.

We came here with nothing. We received help from our relatives who were already here, and we received food distribution. We also received sleeping mats, utensils, blankets, and a tent at Kambios (another part of Dadaab).

My parents can just stay in the camp. There is no work for them to do, and this makes them sad.

LWF (ALWS partners Lutheran World Federation) is the one who give us the education. They built up the school for us. 

I give my thanks to the people in Australia. I am grateful.

Please continue your help as the school is not yet completed. We have no permanent classroom. Without this, the wind can come and blow this school away.

We do not even have a school bell, so the children don’t know when to come. We need a stamp to put the school name on the textbooks. We get homework, but we do not have enough books. At home we also do not have light so we cannot study at night.

I would like to be a teacher. I will teach the younger children, and be a teacher here at this camp. I will make sure parents bring the children to school, because if the children do not have education they can only be labourers.

Education is the best thing to make life better in the camp.”

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