According to UNHCR, there are 561,060 refugees in Kenya. Despite hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world, there is hardly any platform that documents their art. Refugees face a myriad of challenges that can inspire powerful poetry and storytelling and that can inform policies on refugee issues.
I am a writer, poet, co-founder, and director of Rafinki, a community of artists who address social issues through poetry and storytelling. We hold workshops and poetry open mics with our latest edition based on the theme of Refugee Stories. This project is an expanded vision of the referenced event.
The project will involve 25 refugee writers and poets. Participants will attend training and workshops on writing, performance poetry, and digital literacy. The project will culminate in the publication of a short story anthology of refugee stories. We will also record a series of spoken word performances by refugee poets. which will be screened during the book launch at Baraza Media Lab. Although there have been platforms to discuss the plight of refugees in Kenya, none has intended to address these issues artistically. Additionally, there is an existing deep void in promoting art from refugees.
