Children and Youths’ Belonging in Protracted Displacement: A Mixed-Methods Study from Kakuma Refugee Camp

Abstract

Millions of children and youth live in forced displacement. We conducted a mixed-methods study among 729 primary students in Kakuma Refugee Camp to examine the roles of knowledge, experience (direct or indirect), language, and schooling in students’ sense of belonging to their home country and intention to return. We found sense of belonging is associated with knowledge of one’s country and its traditions, fluency in one’s home language, and schooling opportunities. However, these same factors are negatively associated with their intent to repatriate in the near future. The relationship between formal and informal learning appears to encourage a pragmatic sense of belonging to Kenya for the immediate future while any sense of belonging and hope for return to their home countries are projected onto an imagined future.