Canadian scholarship program unlocks endless potential in Dadaab
Canadian scholarship program unlocks endless potential in Dadaab
Malyun Abdi Hassan sits quietly with her two younger brothers, helping them with their homework. Her voice is calm as she explains a math problem, pausing patiently while they scribble in their notebooks.
Born and raised in Dadaab, Malyun, 24, saw something different in her mother who quietly resisted the cultural norms that placed education for girls as a low priority. It was just the four of them: her mother, brothers Mohamed and Mascud, and herself. There was little room for waste, and even less for excuses.
Malyun Abdi goes through school documents in Dadaab
"With all the household chores, I needed a lot of time to catch up with homework, and my family couldn’t afford a tutor, but a well-wisher who owned a private school saw promise in me and offered to sponsor my education"
That single act of kindness became the bridge to everything she has achieved since. In 2023, she completed high school, holding tightly to a dream few around her thought possible. When her results came in early 2024, they unlocked an opportunity that would change her life - she was accepted into the WUSC (World University Service of Canada) scholarship program, which supports refugees to pursue higher education in Canada.
The WUSC scholarship covers tuition and living expenses, provides mentorship, and offers community support, giving refugee students a real chance to thrive in a new environment.
“I was one of the lucky ones. Many girls in the camp never get this chance,” she says. “But I knew I wanted more and I knew I had to work twice as hard to prove I could do it.”
Through the program, Malyun has chosen to study nursing, fulfilling a promise she made to herself after losing her father to a long illness in 2022. She remembers the helplessness in the clinic and the quiet frustration of seeing nurses unable to do much for him.
"I still remember sitting in the hospital, holding my father’s hand, watching the nurses come and go, wishing I could do something, anything, to ease his pain."
Now one of twenty students preparing to travel to Canada to begin a new chapter, Malyun sees this as more than an opportunity – it’s a personal crusade to honour her father.
“This means everything to me and my family,” she says. “It means showing my brothers what is possible. It means carrying my father’s memory into every hospital ward that I will walk into.”
WUSC scholars and staff pose with UNHCR staff outside UNHCR Dadaab offices during orientation week.
At home, Malyun’s mother, who has held the family together through hardship, now watches proudly as her daughter prepares for her first journey outside the camp. Her younger brother, Mohamed, is close behind, expected to finish high school this year. In the evenings, they sit together, studying, tutoring, or imagining a future where they can finally realize their dreams.
Perry Mayamba, Senior Programme Officer at UNHCR, says stories like Malyun’s highlight what refugee youth can achieve when given the chance.
"This scholarship is not just a ticket to a university abroad. It is a pathway to restoring dignity, building futures, and unlocking the potential that has been there all along."
To date, dozens of young refugees from Dadaab have benefited, gaining access to higher education and resettlement pathways far beyond the camp. Mayamba adds that in a setting where only a small fraction of youth secure such life-changing opportunities, the WUSC scholarships stand out as “powerful platforms for resilience, hope, and academic advancement for refugees in Dadaab and beyond.”
As she waits her travel date, Malyun spends her time packing her few belongings, helping her brothers study, and saying quiet goodbyes to the place she has called home for 24 years. She is anxious but hopeful and excited for the future.
“I want to be the kind of nurse who makes people feel seen,” she says. “Maybe one day my community will hear my story and know that a girl’s place is not just in the kitchen. It is in the classroom, in the hospital, really in the whole world,” she says.
