By Chieng Banpieny Wuol
Chieng Banpieny Wuol lives in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya. With support from UNHCR’s DAFI scholarship programme, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from Maseno University in Kenya, in November 2025. He then completed a research internship with the University of Dar Es Salaam, in partnership with the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH). He recently participated in RLRH’s postgraduate access programme, Graduate Horizons, and the RSC Foundations bridging course.
The day I was awarded a DAFI scholarship felt like winning a golden ticket out of displacement. It was a life-changing opportunity to pursue higher education in a place where opportunities for refugees are limited after secondary school. For me, the scholarship was about more than access to education – it was also about hope and the promise of becoming a changemaker in my community.
But when the graduation caps came off, and the applause faded, reality hit harder than I expected. After completing my undergraduate studies, I walked across that stage, certificates in hand, only to face a future filled with uncertainty.
The DAFI scholarship programme forms one of the key pillars of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ strategy to achieve 15% enrolment of young refugee women and men in higher education globally by 2030. In Kenya, the programme is implemented by Windle International Kenya in partnership with UNHCR. With funding primarily from the German government, it provides displaced scholars with a comprehensive support package that includes tuition fees, study materials, and living expenses.
Through this support, many refugee students have gained skills and knowledge that enabled them to enter employment when allowed to do so, either as entrepreneurs or by working with others, often in refugee-led organisations or refugee education. However, it is undeniable that many DAFI scholars, in Kenya and elsewhere, face challenges transitioning from student life to the working world. This blog reflects my own experiences, those of members of my 2021 cohort, and other DAFI scholars who graduated before me.
Lack of support structures for refugee graduates
A moment in my life when everything felt heavy was watching my Kenyan colleagues apply for government internships when I couldn’t because I was a refugee. The lack of similar internship placement, coaching, and other support for DAFI graduates made me question UNHCR’s claim that higher education allows refugee youth to develop the skills to create change in their communities. In reality, organisations like UNHCR and WIK, although well aware of DAFI scholars’ qualifications and potential, offer few opportunities directly targeting them.
Fortunately for me, through RLRH, I underwent training in research and professional skills that prepared me to lead research projects and advance in positions of leadership. But with support structures out of reach for most refugee graduates in Kenya, many are left without the chance to apply their knowledge or develop the soft skills essential for growth and self-reliance.
Documentation issues
Kenya’s Refugee Act 2021 is often praised as a progressive model for refugee integration, especially at a time when many countries are tightening restrictions. However, there are significant challenges associated with applying for or renewing a Refugee Identity Card. Refugee IDs need to be renewed every five years, a process that can take more than six months or a year, without clear communication from authorities. One DAFI graduate said ‘I applied for an urban ID card in 2022 but never received it to date.’
This prolonged wait for documentation restricts refugees’ access to available opportunities. It also makes it difficult for DAFI graduates to access government services such as tax registration, business and driver’s licenses, as well as Kenya’s eCitizen platform. The difficulty of obtaining a Class M work permit (a type of work permit issued to recognised refugees in Kenya) is another major barrier.
The lack of communication between the refugee registration system managed by the Kenyan Government’s Department of Refugee Services (DRS) and UNHCR, and national registration systems managed by the Kenya National Registration Bureau (NRB) further limits refugees’ access to public services and formal employment.
Drawing on my personal observations, a few DAFI graduates have managed to quickly obtain documents, including Refugee IDs or Class M work permits, due to their personal connections, but for many, these documents remain a significant barrier to securing formal employment.
Encampment policy
Kenya’s encampment policy requires all refugees to reside in their respective designated areas and prohibits students from staying outside a camp without a permit. Temporary movement passes can only be issued to refugees for limited reasons, such as on medical grounds, for education, employment, or business, and for limited time periods. While one-year permits can be issued to refugees studying outside a camp, once they graduate, travel passes are only valid for 14 days. Those who fail to return to camp after 14 days face legal charges. This denies DAFI alumni the chance of finding a formal job in an urban area.
Limiting social perceptions of refugees
Based on my own experience, although DAFI scholars possess excellent knowledge and skills, which could change their lives and their communities, they still face social perceptions that limit them. Many potential employers assume that refugees should only be recipients of humanitarian aid or start small businesses, even when they are qualified and ready to contribute meaningfully. After graduating, I struggled to find even an internship or a volunteer role. Some employers were hesitant to hire me based on concerns about documentation, while others were influenced by discriminatory perceptions that refugees pose a security threat. One DAFI alumni said ‘I thought education would open the doors. Instead, I’m still knocking with a degree in hand, because the responses from the employers are nothing other than “Why don’t you start a business?”’
To summarise, while higher education has enabled thousands of refugee youth to gain valuable skills and qualifications, I have learned that it is only the first step. True transformation can only happen when these graduates are supported beyond earning a certificate, and empowered to become changemakers who can lead solutions within their communities. For many DAFI graduates in Kenya, a degree alone does not open the door to opportunity. Without pathways to employment or entrepreneurship, graduation often marks not the end of a struggle, but the start of a new one.
Recommendations
Rather than calling for charity, this blog calls for a change in thinking and a new approach around the silent struggles of DAFI scholars. The recommendations below suggest how the Department of Refugee Services, UNHCR, Windle International Kenya, and refugee-led organisations can address the post-graduation challenges DAFI scholars face.
To the Government of Kenya (Department of Refugee Services)
- Simplify the Refugee ID Card renewal process. Job applications require refugee documents, including an Alien Card. The government should reduce the time period for processing a renewal to no more than one month, and make the Refugee Alien Card the sole requirement to apply for a Class M work permit.
- Establish a mechanism for sharing data between the Refugee Registration System and the National Registration System. DAFI alumni face significant barriers in accessing essential public services due to the lack of data sharing between the two systems. A secure, standardised mechanism that enables verified refugee biometric and biographical data to be shared with the National Registration System should be developed. This would allow more DAFI graduates to use the eCitizen platform to obtain online services provided by the Kenyan government.
- Reform the movement pass policy. The government allows DAFI alumni to stay outside designated areas for no more than the 14-day period of a movement pass. This reduces their chances of finding a formal job in an urban area. Increasing the validity of the movement pass period to three months would allow more time to seize opportunities.
To UNHCR and Windle International Kenya (WIK)
- Create public awareness among potential employers. To address assumptions that refugees can only be humanitarian aid recipients or informal business owners, UNHCR and WIK should run regular public awareness campaigns to clarify how the private sector can hire refugees, and what documents are needed. This could be done by conducting webinars and conferences with policymakers and stakeholders that emphasise the benefits of employing refugees.
- Establish support structures for refugee graduates. The lack of support structures for DAFI graduate students, such as internship placement, coaching, and networking opportunities, has left them stranded. UNHCR should partner with NGOs and employers to link DAFI graduates to internships, apprenticeships and job training pathways based on merit.
To Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs)
- Establish refugee-led knowledge production about the challenges refugee graduates face. The difficulties that DAFI graduates are going through are shared by other refugee graduates, but little research has been done in this area. RLOs should support refugee-led research that would highlight the struggles refugee graduates face and share that research with policymakers.
