Arriving at Kakuma Refugee Camp

The Road Trip

Checking in

Arrival Procedure. We’re questioned when we arrive.After completing reception requirements, allocated to a community within the camp i, marked as such on a manifest identity paper. We were each allocated to an LGBTQ block. The National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK)** provides shelter materials to refugees. Shelters are all equal and similar in everything, usually an eighteen-steel sheet roofed shelter with walls made of tent materials.

** Referenced from Responsible Kenyan Gold. (2018). MENA Report.

More recently, due (October 2023), canvas tent dormitories are being constructed to house newcomers due to the short supply of materials. Please read our article about accommodation: Our shelters and living conditions.

What newcomers are given

A computerised food ration card is issued as part of the arrival procedure. To be kept safe because it’s required to access food on specified supply days. When we insert the card into the food distribution system, the attendant knows the exact quantity of our allocation. It stops people from taking more than they should. The food is never enough! Food Rations, Diet, Cooking and Hunger Each newcomer is issued a thin mat, one blanket, a jerrican for water, a mosquito net, one bucket, one saucepan, 3 cups, three plates, spoons and forks. They might not be replaced if lost or stolen. Newcomers also receive an emergency food ration. Then, One instance of passive voice is found in the text: “Shelter materials are provided to refugees by the National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK).” This sentence: The National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK) provides refugees with shelter materials.” we’re each expected to get on with it!

Refugee Status Recognition

Note. Arrivals are usually designated as asylum seekers. To be considered a registered refugee is a higher status, decided only after an interview with a Kenyan Government representative. It can take a long time before an individual knows the decision outcome. The ultimate aim of everyone in the camp is to achieve settlement in a friendly third country. For all LGBTQ+ people, it can’t come quickly enough.