Inspired by the Refugee Olympic Team competing in Rio, refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and other countries take part in a football tournament on a sandy pitch at Dadaab. Of the 615,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya when this tournament took place in August 2016, over 340,000 were living in the five camps that make up the giant Dadaab complex. ; For the first time in Olympic history the International Olympic Committee has created a team of refugees who will compete as the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016. The team includes two Syrian swimmers, two judokas from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a marathon runner from Ethiopia and five middle-distance runners from South Sudan. All of them have escaped violence or persecution in their own countries and cannot compete under their own national flags.

© UNHCR/Assadullah Nasrullah

Kenya has a long history of hosting refugees from the East & Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region.

Approximately two-thirds of the refugees and asylum-seekers currently living in Kenya have fled general insecurity in their home countries since the 1990s, including Somalia, South Sudan and the Democractic Republic of Congo.

Kenya’s humanitarian traditions towards asylum-seekers and refugees, expressed through Government and host-community support, include the preservation of and access to asylum and international protection; access to adequate land and urban asylum space for a growing population of concern; and access to effective basic services, including health care, quality education, markets and livelihood opportunities.

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News and stories about Kenya

At a Kenyan refugee camp, girls learn to beat the odds

Only one girl in 10 makes it to high school at Kakuma, but that's no deterrent for this South Sudanese student with high ambitions.

15 Sep 2016

Best of Rio2016: Top Olympic moments for Team Refugees

Now back in Kenya, the Refugee Olympic Team's South Sudanese runners share their memories of reunions, roaring crowds and a first glimpse of the ocean in Rio de Janeiro.

30 Aug 2016

Drums, hugs and tears of joy as refugee Olympians land back in Kenya

Exuberant welcome for South Sudanese track and field athletes who made history at Rio 2016 Games as competitors in first Refugee Olympic Team.

24 Aug 2016

Refugee athletes set out for Rio Olympics, and history

Five middle-distance runners from South Sudan, until recently living in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, to take part in first-ever Refugee Olympic Team.

28 Jul 2016

Muted cheers mark South Sudan's fifth birthday, with millions displaced

Some are going home, but over 2.4 million South Sudanese will be far away for the fifth anniversary of independence, driven to flee by conflict, hunger and worry.

8 Jul 2016

Kenya: UN refugee chief sees opportunity with Kakuma

While in Kenya, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visited Kakuma refugee camp, home to nearly 200,000 refugees, primarily from South Sudan. He also toured a new site, Kalobeyei, where refugees share services, farm the land and build businesses with locals.

17 Jun 2016

In Kenya, UNHCR chief assured refugee return will not contravene international obligations

Calls for massive investment in stable parts of Somalia to enable more refugees to return.

12 Jun 2016

UNHCR appeals to Kenya over decision to end refugee hosting

GENEVA, May 9 (UNHCR) - The UN Refugee Agency is calling on the Government of Kenya to reconsider its recent announcement that it intends to end the hosting of refugees. The Ministry of Interior made...

9 May 2016

UNHCR battles cholera at world's largest refugee complex

Four cholera treatment centres have been set up to curb the outbreak that has so far killed 10 at Kenya's Dadaab complex.

31 Dec 2015

Student returns to Somalia with dream of becoming a doctor

Student returns to Somalia with dream of becoming a doctor

3 Sep 2015

Return to Somalia: No longer a refugee

Flight takes one hour but for most on board is a journey of a life-time.

7 Aug 2015

More than 100 Somali refugees arrive home in Mogadishu from Kenya

Two planes carrying 116 refugees mark start of new chapter in voluntary return process.

5 Aug 2015

UNHCR urges Kenyan government rethink on Dadaab closure announcement

UNHCR ready to work even more closely with Kenya to strengthen law enforcement at Dadaab and support other measures to protect refugees and Kenyans alike.

14 Apr 2015

Student excels at Angelina Jolie Pitt-funded girls school in Kenya camp

The primary school in Kakuma that the UNHCR Special Envoy set up in 2002 recorded an 86 percent pass rate

27 Mar 2015

Sudanese Lost Boy to promote refugee cause as UNHCR High Profile Supporter

Hollywood actor and model Ger Duany is honoured to be recognized as a supporter of the refugee cause. He also feels a heavy burden of personal responsibility.

9 Mar 2015

Innovation: Instant Network Schools open up a new world for Somali refugees

Students at the 13 solar-powered ICT centres use Internet-enabled tablets to help them learn and study. Teachers use interactive whiteboards as a vital class aid.

4 Feb 2015

Hungry for help: refugees in Kenya feel the effects of recent food cuts

Nyachot displays a handful of maize grains that form part of the food ration she receives in World Food Programme restored full rations in January, but the funding situation remains uncertain and WFP and UNHCR have issued joint appeals to donors.

9 Jan 2015

UNHCR seeks to reassure refugees in Kenya facing food shortages

The World Food Programme and UNHCR are working together to resolve the food problem for a total 490,000 refugees in Kakuma and Dadaab camps.

21 Nov 2014