The largest refugee camp in the world is located in north eastern Kenya, not far from the Somali border. More than 1,000 people are arriving each day to seek refuge from the East African Famine. According to an article by Samantha Spooner in The East African, the new arrivals first wait in a queue to be processed. When their turn comes, they are fingerprinted, allocated some clothing, and given some high-energy food.
Next comes a medical inspection, courtesy of Médecins Sans Frontières, and this includes immunisation and nutritional screening, with those identified as severely malnourished being admitted to the hospital. After that comes normal food distribution, with quantities of wheat flour, maize meal, cooking oil, sugar, salt and beans being allocated according to the size of the family and handed to the recipients through a wire fence.
New refugees must then find their own accommodation on the outskirts of the camp, often using dead trees, plastic bags and cardboard boxes, until they can be transferred to official accommodation which includes water, toilets and schools. Life at Dadaab is not easy for the newly-arrived refugees, but it is certainly better than the alternative.