Dadaab camp, Kenya

UNHCR and its partners are working to repair heavy damage caused in late April by heavy rains and flooding in north-eastern Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. A 4-year-old boy was killed and three of his siblings injured when their shelter collapsed. In all, some 25,000 Somali refugees suffered damage to their shelters. A majority of the shelters in Ifo - one of the three camps in Dadaab - collapsed or were washed away by torrential rains on Thursday, April 28.

WFP food distribution is underway for the whole camp, with priority given to the 25,000 refugees displaced by last week's floods. UNHCR and its NGO partners are now distributing non-food items, including, blankets, kitchen sets, tarpaulins and soap. Despite the flooding and associated fears of contamination of water supplies, only a slight increase in diarrhoeal diseases has been reported by medical workers at the camp. Reconstruction of pit latrines destroyed by the flooding has begun. Water supplies remain good, and boreholes were functioning.

Coincidentally, a Geneva charity concert to benefit education for girl refugees in Dadaab is scheduled for next Wednesday, 11 May, at 20h00 at the the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices. The classical music concert will feature the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, led by internationally renowned conductor and pianist Christian Zacharias, and is dedicated to the "UNHCR - Together for Girls Initiative." This project supports schooling for Somali girl refugees in the Dadaab camps. The concert has been generously organized by the Lions Club of Geneva with the support of private sponsors. All funds raised through the sale of the concert tickets, donations and additional sponsoring of the event will directly benefit UNHCR programmes in Dadaab. Tickets are available through COOP and FNAC Balexert and Rives.