Help Me Do Research in Kenya!

Hawa Ibrahim Start Date: Apr 20, 2023 - End Date: Oct 19, 2023
  • Dadaab, Kenya

My Travel Story

by: Hawa Ibrahim Start Date: Apr 20, 2023 - End Date: Oct 19, 2023
Hi Friends!

This December, I plan on visiting the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to conduct research exploring Somali Bantu women's lives there. The research trip will build on existing literature exploring Somali Bantu and similar refugee populations' construction of identity as they navigate systems. I am really excited to go on this trip because it will not only help me to develop research skills but also help me gather data for my future PhD program!

In short, my research seeks to use digital storytelling via my podcast, Mashallah Sisters, to illuminate the lived experiences of Somali Bantu women residing in the Dadaab refugee camp. In addition, I will explore the many overt and covert ways Somali Bantu women practice resistance to establish agency as they construct their identities.

As many of you may know, I myself am Somali Bantu, and I do have many families in the camp, even to this day! So here is a brief description of where my history stands alongside the diaspora as a whole: In 1991, along with many families, my parents fled their homes in southern Somalia during the Somali Civil War, which took the lives of many of their loved ones. They fled to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, where I was born in 1998. After spending over a decade in Dadaab, my parents transferred to the Kakuma refugee camp. After a year there, my family was given clearance for a visa to re-settle in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2004.

My personal connection to my people’s history as well as my involvement in the community, is a driving factor for this research project that I will be conducting in December for two weeks! These funds will cover my flight and accommodations in Dadaab and Nairobi, Kenya. For those who know me, know I am very passionate about serving the Somali Bantu community and amplifying women's voices. This trip is an extension of that passion as well as the next step in my journey of pursuing my future career in international relations and policy!

Any amount helps! Thank you so much for donating! You have made me the happiest girl in the world!
  • Dadaab, Kenya