Martha Korok. Kakuma Refugee Camp. Kenya

07/05/2020

 

Poems, songs and performances against the coronavirus

Martha Korok is a teacher in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She was a beneficiary of the “Kakuma Scholars” programme carried out in collaboration with the Camilo José Cela University Foundation. Martha wrote to us again to tell us that they are free of coronavirus and that they are preparing to avoid infection.

So far so good. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Kakuma refugee camp, although we are concerned that the rate is rising in other neighbouring counties.

Fortunately, my companions and I, along with all my family members, are safe.

There is a great need here for education and public awareness. Most people have misconceptions about Covid 19: they think that it only kills the elderly, that it only affects fair-skinned people or that it does not survive in warm climates.

Kakuma’s now in lockdown, but not completely closed. People interact a lot when they go to fetch water at water points or food at food distribution centres.

As a teacher, I have gathered a group of talented young people who, through their poems, songs and plays, are trying to educate and raise awareness about the dangers of coronavirus and the steps that people can take to protect themselves.

The poems, plays, songs and lyrics are ready, but there is a big challenge ahead. The studios to record these songs need funding and that is what is holding me back.