HORN OF AFRICA/ 5. Maria (AVSI): Hope is not just for fools

It is not easy to work in Dadaab at this time. It is not easy for anyone. Everyone is tired, exhausted by the numerous weekly meetings to organize the lives of 470,000 people in the most human and reasonable way possible. Everyone is submerged in work. The day begins at 6 in the morning and ends at 8 at night, when one lies down with no strength left.

After months of hearing about only desperation and death, seeing the foundations going up where three weeks ago there was nothing, is like seeing hope grow. To know that at least 2,000 of the children that are now running behind cars (because there is no one who takes care of them),  will have a place to stay, where they can learn, and where they can feel safe and protected, fills the heart with joy and with the meaning of all of our work.

The people who arrive here want to live, to realize their potential, to see their children become ready to face the world beyond the invisible and visible fences of a refugee camp. Those first holes in the ground, where the foundations of the school will be placed, are there to witness that hope is not just for fools, but is for each of us. 


How you can help:

Online using Paypal: Through www.avsi-usa.org, just click on the Donate button to the left; or
By check: Make payable to AVSI-USA and send to AVSI-USA: 529 14th Street NW, Suite 994, Washington, DC 20045.
*Please indicate “Dadaab emergency” as your reason for donating.

(Maria Li Gobbi -AVSI; Translation by Maria Bond)