From Dadaab to new horizons: Refugee students begin secondary schools across Kenya.
From Dadaab to new horizons: Refugee students begin secondary schools across Kenya.
At 18, Bisharo Mohamed has spent her entire life in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps. Born and raised there, she has gone to school within the camps since childhood.
Soon, she will leave the camps for the first time.
Bisharo is among 245 refugee students selected to join senior secondary schools across Kenya under the 2026 Elimu Scholarship Programme, supported by the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education under the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEEQIP).
For many of the students, including Bisharo, the journey marks their first time travelling beyond the camps.
The 18-year-old will report to Arya Girls Secondary School in Parklands, Nairobi. It will also be her first visit to the capital and her first time living outside the place she has always called home.
“I am excited and scared at the same time,” Bisharo says. “Dadaab is all I know. Nairobi feels very big, but I want to do well and make my family proud.”
The students will join schools across the country, including in Garissa County, Nairobi, Kisumu and Kajiado.
“We have received school necessities including stationery, hygiene kits and pocket money to support us in our studies,” Bisharo adds.
Born in Dadaab, Bisharo Mohamed, a future Doctor, is one of 245 refugee students bound for secondary school
As Bisharo packed her metal trunk ahead of the journey, her mother watched quietly.
“I never went to school,” she says. “Seeing my child go this far gives me hope. Even though I will miss her, I know education is her future.”
The opportunity comes as Kenya advances the Shirika Plan, which promotes the inclusion of refugees into national systems, including education. Through initiatives like the Elimu Scholarship Programme, refugee students are able to study alongside Kenyan peers and access opportunities beyond the camps.
“This moment is significant,” says William Ejalu, Head of UNHCR Sub-Office Dadaab. “For refugee children, school is more than a place to learn. It opens doors to opportunity and helps them build the skills and confidence needed for their future.”
In 2026, the programme placed particular emphasis on girls’ education, with 130 girls and 115 boys selected for national school placements.
For Bisharo, the opportunity carries both excitement and responsibility.
“I know many girls and boys are looking up to us,” she says. “I want to show that refugees - especially girls - can succeed if given the chance.”
Some of the refugee students departing Dadaab for secondary schools across Kenya pose with UNHCR staff and an Elimu Scholarship representative ahead of their journey
As they prepare to leave Dadaab, the students carry more than books and uniforms. They carry the hopes of families, teachers and communities who see their journey as a step forward for many others who will follow.
For Bisharo and her fellow scholars, this moment represents more than a new school.
It marks the beginning of possibilities far beyond the camps they once thought defined their future.
