After the Higher Education in Emergencies Workshop in Edinburgh, Dr. Brockett, Oshish, and Almas headed on to Nairobi, Kenya. Meetings with key organizations in the region including the UN Refugee Agency, Open Society University Network, and Windle Trust Kenya were essential in building an understanding of how ISOW could play a role in increasing access to higher education in the region.

They then travelled to Kakuma refugee camp to visit schools and meet with very generous students who invested their time in helping understand the intersectional issues that can hinder access to higher education and meaningful livelihoods. The number of students that are eligible for higher education far outweigh the supports that exist, and understanding the barriers that exist in meeting the criteria of scholarship programs will be key considerations that we can make in shaping our independent scholar selection process. For instance, the weather conditions, access to computers, typing skills, and grading scales are all factors that impact students’ abilities to secure scholarships.

We are grateful to the students and staff for their hospitality and willingness to meet with us!