The Danish Refugee Council's patron HRH Crown Princess Mary and Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Søren Pind visited the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab in Kenya, on Saturday. Here, more than 430,000 refugees mainly from Somalia are living here now - more are coming every day.

The need for urgent action and more aid for victims of famine in the Horn of Africa came very close to the Danish Refugee Council's patron Crown Princess Mary, when she and Minister Søren Pind visited the Dadaab camps. The camps are located in Kenya nearly 90 kilometers from the border with Somalia. This is where most of the refugees from famine in Somalia come after a long and hazardous journey through drought and war torn areas.

The Danish Refugee Council is not only the largest Danish aid organization in Somalia, the epicenter of the humanitarian crisis, but also a key player when it comes to relief to Dadaab in Kenya. 

During her visit, Crown Princess Mary inaugurated the Danish Refugee Council’s new compound marking a more permanent role since work began back in 2005. The Crown Princess thanked staff for their hard work to deliver emergency aid, and said further in her speech:

"Sometimes a catastrophe can seem too large to cope with, but this should not stop us from doing our utmost to make a difference for the hungry and needy. We must save lives, and we must light hopes."

In the part of Dadaab where newly arrived refugees are registered, the Crown Princess met several of the exhausted and weakened refugees who had just arrived. Many have lost family members and suffered violence underway, and all are marked by famine and traumatic experiences. Meanwhile they are also among the lucky ones who reached safety and aid in Dadaab.

After the initial registration, the Crown Princess witnessed the delivery of emergency aid, a package containing high energy biscuits, water, cans, pots, tarpaulins, blankets, and soap. The Danish delegation later visited a hospital for severely malnourished children. Here, the Crown Princess among others spoke with a mother who had just arrived from Somalia and who was hospitalized with her 4-year-old son, who weighed 6.6 kg.

As the last stop on the visit to Dadaab, the Crown Princess met one of the families recently settled with a tent at the edge of one of the overcrowded camps in Dadaab.

Dadaab was established in 1991 when civil war erupted in Somalia. War and periods of drought have forced increasing numbers to leave their homes with many having crossed the borders to neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. With the ongoing historic drought the Somali population living with 20 years of civil war is exposed to yet a disaster. 

Currently, an estimated 1,500 people are reaching to Dadaab every day, adding to its more than 430,000 inhabitants living in the world's largest refugee camp.

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