The“Sight and Life in My Life” Essay Competition nd Life e mpetition

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SIGHT AND LIFE | VOL. 25 (2) | 2011THE “SIGHT AND LIFE IN MY LIFE” ESSAY COMPETITION9Abubakar BulakoSight and Life in MyLifeI am a refugee who lives in Kenya, and have spent manyyears in Kakuma refugee camp. I was forced to leave my landand my country and had to flee to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda,and Kenya after the outbreak of civil war. I have been separatedfrom my family since 2003, which was the beginningof my long and unending journey as a refugee. I am inKakuma refugee camp. This camp is located in the Turkanadistrict of the northwestern region of Kenya, 120 km fromLodwar district headquarters and 95 km from Lokichoggio oand the Kenya-Sudan border.Life in the semi-arid desert environment of Kakuma israther challenging. The area has always been full of problems:dust storms, high temperatures, poisonous spiders, snakesand scorpions, outbreaks of malaria and cholera andother hardships.“Life in a refugee campis life without hope”The camp is a small city of thatched-roof huts,tents andmud abodes. Living in here is like living in a prison. Life in arefugee camp is life without hope; it’s about living like a blindperson, who only knows where he or she comes from, butdoes not know where he or she is heading. This was my wayof life in Kakuma camp. Living in a camp is not an easy task,nor is life easy withoutemployment or any means to generateincome. I did find itdifficult to survive the day, and mostlyrelied on the limited food supplies distributed twice a monthby the World Food Programme (WFP).However, being in the camp taught me more about life.I decided to volunteer and start helping others; first of all,I worked for the Lutheran World Services (LWF) as a foodclerk at the distribution centers. Secondly, I joined the InternationalRescue Committee (IRC) which deals with healthissuesin the camp – after being trained as a nurse aid andnutritionist. After that, I was retrained by the Jesuit RefugeeServices (JRS) as a counselor, inspired by the situation peopleare living in. Many people commit suicide and this is whatpushed me to become a community counselor …Abubakar BulakoAs my aim is to help people who cannot do things on theirown, I did not stop there. I continued to help the most vulnerable,in a different field. As the camp was also full of differenttypes of violence, I was also trained as an ambassador forwomen in Gender Based Violence. The camp is multiculturaland there usedto be conflicts. In this instance, I also decidedto do “Peace and Reconciliation” in order to become a peacekeeperin the community. All of these projects were to the endof assistingmy people who cannot do things on their own.“In Kakuma refugee camp,the most challenging issue is food”In Kakuma refugee camp, the most challenging issue isfood. It’s what I call the source of everything – if people don’tget food, this can lead to disease and fighting, among manyother things. This is why I decided to join WFP. After beingselected by the community to represent them on the FoodAdvisory Committee (FAC), my work involved attending meetingson the food basket and food pipeline situation, and thedistribution plan through working with WFP.⇢
10THE “SIGHT AND LIFE IN MY LIFE” ESSAY COMPETITIONI started to have Sight and Life in my life. That is to say,I hope one day to develop my own non-profit entity to attemptto help solve some of the issues of poverty in Africa,I started seeing ahead, because it was through WFP meetingsthat I met different WFP donors and held discussions and alsoby providing people with the skills to reduce poverty in theirinteractions with them. Everything was about food-related dcountries.issues. The beginning of my new journey also started when I I would like toacknowledge the efforts of the Sight andfirst met the new WFP donor – DSM. We held a meeting with Life teamfor their charity, stimulation, love and support,Madam Milka when she first visited the camp in 2008. Shewhich has given me success in my life. Thank you very muchtold us about a new micronutrient product called MixMe.and may God bless you all.She also told us that she was working hand in hand with Sightand Life, DSM’s humanitarian initiative. That was the first Ihad ever heard about this; later on, we met the DSM team andCorrespondence: Abubakar Bulako, Catholic University ofSight and Life when they visited the camp.Eastern Africa, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Arts andLater, I had the opportunity to meet Dr Klaus Kraemer, the Social Sciences, PO BOX 863-00600, Nairobi, KenyaDirector. This was a special day and something I had neverE-mail: aboubadiobg@yahoo.frexperienced as a refugee, or indeed since I had started volunteeringas an FAC. Working with WFP and Sight and Life onMixMe at Kakuma was a great opportunity. ty. I was able“I entered the competition because, after reading Sight andto take part in every activity and every survey in the camp;LifeMagazine, I felt that I had something to be proud about.I had the chance to transform myself and overcome my own I wanted to share this with people who might have lost hopelimitations. I also developed the skills to help my people andin their lives.”unfortunate Rwandese and Burundians who did not knowabout MixMe, as well as other refugees fromother countries.Abubakar BulakoNairobi, Kenya“Thanks to Sight and Life,I got the chance to see far andto regain hope”Thanks to Sight and Life, I got the chance to see far and toregain hope. It has helped me find myself again, re-think andalso restore my dreams. Sight and Life gave me the chanceto go back to school. As I write, I am in Nairobi, the Kenyancapital – a place that I could not have imagined visiting asa refugee. But I am here now, pursuing my degree in Arts &Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.In my life, Sight and Life is more than everything to me. It hasrebuilt my life and has given it sight. Today, I am a personwho can speak out and to whom people listen, who can shareideas and change other people. I will become a social scientisttomorrow and all of this is thanks to Sight and Life. I am sograteful to you. It is my hope and belief that this companionshipwill remain for many years to come, not only for me butalso for those who are in greater need than me. With yourhelp, I know who I am. I promise to work hard and do more tohelp those who cannot help themselves. Assisting and helpingwill be my personal battle, so that I can help the vulnerablewithout expecting any rewards in return.“I“ I would like to sendmythanks to all the teammembers who selectedme. I don’t know how toca express myfeelingsbecause I am so happyand feel as if I am flyingwithout wings!”
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The“Sight and Life in My Life” Essay Competition nd Life e mpetition

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