(ERGO) – After dropping out of school in the Somali refugee camps in Kenya due to poverty, Fartun Mohamoud Mohamed’s hope of advancing her educational journey was rekindled in April with the opening of a new free school for girls.
Fartun, 19, finished at Upendo primary school in Hagadera camp in Dadaab in 2019 but her parents could not afford the tuition fees for secondary school.
She is among 73 girls in Hagadera refugee camp who are now enrolled in Northern Cambridge secondary school, a new institution offering free education to girls in the camp.
“This school has restored my hope of studying because it is offering me free education and free books. I only bought the uniform,” she said beaming with joy.
The school was established in April by Help Dadaab charity in response to the number of girls dropping out of school at primary level due to poverty. Dadaab refugee complex has 13 secondary schools but only two offer free education and both are far from Hagadera camp.
Fartun said she heard about the new school and was quick to enroll. She told Radio Ergo that she hopes to attain a good grade in her final exams to stand a chance of a university scholarship abroad.
Rahma Adan Osman, a refugee mother, was happy to enroll her 18-year-old daughter in the school in June. Rahma said she always wanted to see her daughter going to secondary school but had not been able to raise the 4,000-4,500 Kenya shillings school fees charged by private schools near the camp. The other free schools were too far away.
“It is risky to send a girl alone without anyone accompanying her. But for the boys they can walk the distance, that is why I stopped my daughter from going to school. But this new school is near our home, and it offers free education,” she said.
Abdirahman Farah Barkhadle, the principal, told Radio Ergo that Northern Cambridge school was established to encourage girls to continue with their education. Boys can enroll but they are charged a tuition fee.
He noted they are aiming to enroll more girls from local primary schools in 2022 and are motivated to provide a high standard of education.
“We are planning to expand the school and welcome anyone who wants to benefit from the free education. We are aiming to improve the learning system and the education we offer. We want to be a school that offers quality education for free,” he said.
Abdirahman hopes that students from Northern Cambridge will have good opportunities for university scholarships given to high performing students in Dadaab. It is the first free secondary school for girls in Dadaab refugee complex.
