Meet the Founders: Q&A with Deirdre Hand
Deirdre Hand, one of the co-founders of Elimisha Kakuma, brings a wealth of experience as an educator, mentor, and advocate for refugee students. Her journey to founding Elimisha Kakuma was shaped by years of teaching English to refugees and international students, both in the U.S. and abroad, and a pivotal month spent in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp. There, she witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by refugee students in accessing higher education.
Together with her co-founders—Dudi Miabok, Diing Manyang, and Mary Maker, all former students of hers who have since become university graduates—Deirdre has worked tirelessly to create opportunities for students in Kakuma to pursue their academic dreams. In this Q&A, she reflects on the inspiration behind the program, the transformative growth of its students, and her vision for a more inclusive and equitable higher education system.
What experiences inspired you/led you to start Elimisha Kakuma?
In college, I volunteered teaching English to resettled refugees from Somalia in Roanoke, VA. After college, I taught English abroad, first in the Czech Republic, Spain, and England, and then earned my Masters in Education (TESOL) and taught for another five years abroad and in the US. I then moved to Rwanda to teach at a university-preparation program called Bridge2Rwanda, where I had the honor of teaching some amazing students, including the other three co-founders, Dudi Miabok, Diing Manyang, and Mary Maker. I had spent a month in Kakuma Refugee Camp the previous year (2016), interning at Jesuit Refugee Services, and when I met Dudi and Diing (who were part of the first cohort I taught), and then Mary the following year, I believe there was a certain connection that we felt.
Through conversations with the three of them and through reading their writing and hearing about their experiences, I learned more about the enormous obstacles students face in Kakuma. I knew how challenging, if not almost impossible, it was for a refugee finishing high school in Kenya to find a way to university, but learning from them made it all the more real and important. I couldn’t imagine a world in which the three of them weren’t going to university, and they’d be the first to tell me, there were plenty more students in Kakuma waiting for such a chance.
Though I obviously couldn’t have understood what it was like to grow up in Kakuma, my experience of having spent a month there led to more in-depth conversations with the three of them. Throughout my time as their teacher and even after they all went off to university on full rides to Harvard University, George Washington University, and St. Olaf College, we’d talked about their time in Kakuma, the need for more post-secondary opportunities, and how maybe one day we’d make our own university-access program that served students from Kakuma specifically. Every so often in the years that followed, we’d check in and float the idea around, but it finally clicked when, despite the world having shut down with the arrival of COVID-19, or maybe because everything shut down, there was some space (just enough) for us to imagine taking the plunge and giving it a shot. And that’s what we did.
What is your favorite part about the Elimisha Kakuma program?
It’s hard to choose a favorite part, but probably just witnessing the growth that students make through the program, not only academically, in improving their writing and critical thinking skills, but also socially–displaying more confidence, developing close bonds with their classmates, and demonstrating an unwavering desire to make sure it doesn’t end with them. I selfishly have to say another favorite part is getting to work with the other co-founders, Mary, Diing, and Dudi, as well as Anika and Brett, other key members of the team. We meet weekly on zoom, and we try to gather in person when we can. The challenges, frustrations, and disappointments are made lighter when you get to work with people that you trust and care about, especially when everyone has a great sense of humor, which is very often needed!
What advice would you give to refugee students who are seeking to access higher education?
That’s a big question. I don’t know that I’m in the best position to offer advice. I’d look towards the others–Mary, Diing, and Dudi for that. If I take their examples, and the examples of all our Elimisha students, it is to hold onto your determination and the belief that you will find a way. I always tell college admissions officers that our students are already more prepared and ready than a typical college freshman–they have made it through a system that was never designed to help them succeed. They have succeeded against all odds, with incredible grades and more importantly, a deep desire to help others and change the world. It is too trite to say, “don’t give up.” Honestly, I understand why so many students do–it is just so hard to win. I will say, find others who want it as badly as you do–I see how well our students support each other, and finding community or making your own community–often with the goal of supporting others–is how I’ve seen so many of our students stay focused on their goals.
What advice would you give to students in Kakuma that want to access the EK program specifically, and to students or faculty at Virginia Tech that want to get involved?
To students in Kakuma who would like to join Elimisha, first, apply! Applications for our next cohort will go live mid-December 2024 and will close mid-January 2025. Answer all questions thoroughly, double-check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc, and have a friend proofread before you submit. Submit all the required documentation, and most importantly, please know that unfortunately, our capacity is limited, and not earning a spot does not mean you’re not qualified. We say over and over how we know there are more qualified applicants in Kakuma than we could hope to take on, simply because of our capacity.
To students or faculty at Virginia Tech that want to get involved, please email me! For students, it’s always helpful to know in what way you’d like to support EK. While tutoring is important, we also need other types of support, like fundraising. If you have other skills you think might be useful–let us know! For faculty who are interested in getting involved, we’d love for our EK students to take a course with you, be it in the summer months, or fall or spring semester. It could be a course you’re already teaching, or an abridged version. Both Dr. Brett Shadle, History, and Dr. Katherine Hall, English, teach regularly, and their courses make a HUGE difference in our students’ growth. And, both Shadle and Hall clearly enjoy it, as they’ve done it for three years in a row at this point!
What’s one thing you’d wish everybody would know about refugees in higher education, Elimisha Kakuma students, and/or Kakuma Refugee Camp?
I wish that everyone knew how our students, from Elimisha, and more broadly, from Kakuma, simply need an opportunity to prove themselves. They have already done the hard work of successfully finishing secondary school against incredible odds and challenges that exist for refugees in Kakuma. They WANT education in a way that can’t compare to students who come to university in a more traditional, expected way. They will not fail–they cannot fail. The hopes and dreams of not only them and their families, but of wider communities rest on their shoulders–a huge responsibility, but also a huge motivator for students. Education isn’t just a ticket out of the camp for our students–one after another, starting with the co-founders, our students show how if they’re given a chance, they will give a hand-up to the next group of students. This ripple-effect is happening through our co-founders and students and can continue, if more students are given this chance.
How do you think the higher education system needs to change for it to become more accessible to refugees around the world?
Well, I’ve absolutely been accused of being idealistic in the past, and I’m afraid my answer will be a bit too idealistic, but… the system needs to be less money-driven. This is an issue for all students trying to go to higher education–it’s insane what it costs for any of us (at least in the U.S.) . Our students are able to gain acceptance to so many schools but then are asked to pay “just” $10,000 a year! Loans are obviously not an option; refugees aren’t permitted to work in Kenya; and there’s no way a refugee will be granted a student visa without proof of full funding. Of the few schools that have enough funding to provide full scholarships, there is obviously enormous competition amongst applicants who may or may not be refugees.
Most universities claim to support and value equity and access, and yet, when it comes down to it, can’t or won’t extend that access to refugee students. Yes, there can be bureaucratic blocks, but when people push back, things can change. It just takes one person in a university to fight for an opportunity for a refugee student, and *poof* a scholarship gets created. (We have seen this happen for several of our students at various universities.) It’s slow work, but it’s important work. I suppose that shows that the system can really only be changed by individuals working together to change it. We at Elimisha are proud to be part of that group.
The more available online degree options are also important, and they can provide ways of working remotely and earning something, but they don’t solve the ultimate problem of, at least in Kenya, the warehousing of refugees, who deserve freedom of movement and freedom to work and rebuild their lives. If refugees are earning online degrees, those programs should provide pathways to work and ways in which students can build futures that don’t include remaining trapped in a camp. This is clearly a broader issue that can’t be fixed just by a university, but it’s an important consideration.
Finally, I think seeing “refugees” as a monolith, while sometimes well-intentioned, can be harmful. Refugees are individual people. Anyone can become a refugee, and with our changing climate, more and more people will become refugees. How do we respond? Universities provide not only education, but networks and connections–something our world desperately needs. We need more people, especially domestic students, to meet people from other backgrounds and experiences, to see how much we have in common, to work together and build community if we are to make this a better world for everyone. I already see our students doing that in their respective communities, and I urge more universities to enrich their campuses with students from displaced backgrounds.