By Tom Heyden
BBC News Magazine

Young Somali refugees living in the world’s largest refugee camp, in Kenya, have sent letters of encouragement to Syrian refugee children who have also had to flee their homeland.

The young Somali students reside in the Dadaab refugee camp, in north-eastern Kenya. It is home to nearly 400,000 refugees, the majority of whom have fled conflict, drought and famine in Somalia over the last 23 years.

Care International, the aid agency that provides many basic services at the camp, organised the pen pal exchange and delivered the handwritten letters to Syrian children at the Refugee Assistance Centre in Amman, Jordan.

They offer messages of solidarity, encouragement and advice to their “dear brothers and sisters”.

Many urge the importance of studying and gaining an education while in the camps.

‘I‘m a refugee like you‘

Hibo Mahamed Dubow with her letter

“I am sure 100% that if you practise learning and struggling, you will excel at the end,” writes Hibo Mahamed Dubow. “Last but not least, I tell you not to lose hope because you have been refugees for only three years. What do you think of people who are refugees for about two decades?”

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