Kakuma Refugee Camp to college in the US: how Amala’s partnership with Elimisha Kakuma is opening doors to higher education
When Mukunzi graduated from Amala's Global Secondary Diploma in Kakuma Refugee Camp, he dreamed of one day going to university. Today, that dream has become reality. After completing Elimisha Kakuma's highly competitive university preparation programme, Mukunzi has become the first Amala Global Secondary Diploma graduate to receive a full scholarship to a university in the United States. This autumn, he will begin a major in International Studies at Bennington College in Vermont.
Mukunzi with his family, educators and classmates on graduation day from Amala, 2023
Mukunzi's achievement is an extraordinary personal milestone, but it is also something bigger. It marks an important milestone for the partnership between Amala and Elimisha, demonstrating how refugee students can move from quality secondary education to higher education when organisations work together to create clear pathways.
For most young people in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, however, going to university is not just unlikely - it can feel impossible. Kakuma is home to over 280,000 refugees, and the number is growing each year. The average time in displacement is now two decades.
Just nine in every hundred refugees around the world are able to get into higher education, despite having the ability, ambition and academic potential to succeed. In Kakuma, that talent is everywhere: young people lead organisations to mitigate gender based violence; create farms from nothing and feed the community; are environmental activists; upskill communities in digital literacy and coding and so much more. It is not a lack of talent that prevents them from reaching university, but the systemic barriers that stand in their way.
Amala and Elimisha Kakuma are two organisations anchored by the belief that education creates a ripple effect of change: for the individual, for their family, for their wider community, and in the world. Where Amala provides all-important secondary education and supports young people living in Kakuma Refugee Camp to develop agency to be able to make a positive impact in the world, Elimisha’s focus is ensuring that those young people can then access higher education, believing that it is the key to refugee youth going on to the positions of power and authority they are currently locked out of.
Building the pipeline: Amala to Elimisha
Amala programmes like the Global Secondary Diploma equip students with the competencies, knowledge, and confidence to rebuild their futures, improve their economic prospects, and become leaders in the complex challenges that matter most to them. Though many Amala students have successfully applied and been admitted to colleges and universities, Amala cannot work alone. This is why partnerships with organisations like Elimisha Kakuma are so significant in enabling youth in Kakuma Camp to turn their dreams of going to university into reality.
“Mukunzi’s achievement is extraordinary, but it didn’t happen because of one organisation. It happened because organisations working together created a pathway from secondary education to university. Together, Amala and Elimisha are showing what’s possible when refugee youth have the opportunity to pursue their ambitions.”
Elimisha was started by three South Sudanese refugees from Kakuma, who all went on to get scholarships at universities. Elimisha offers a 16 month programme for secondary school graduates, providing students with fully funded tutoring, exam preparation, guidance through the college application process and academic instruction, leading them to scholarships at universities across the world. Once students have successfully secured places, they receive ongoing mentorship, host family placement, and support to ensure their long-term success.
Demand for programmes which facilitate scholarships at universities is high in the camp. Elimisha’s programme is therefore extremely competitive: this year they received over 750 applications for just 16 places. The young people who took part have been placed at universities in Canada, Italy, the UK and the USA - and through Elimisha have received full support. For example, a place at an American university is a 400,000 USD scholarship package. The fact that Elimisha can secure these scholarships is both testament to the competencies that young people in the camp have, and the trust that scholarship providers place in the students and in Elimisha.
Mukunzi speaking on the UNFPA Youth Advisory Panel
What makes Amala students stand out
Mukunzi took every opportunity he could to get this place at Bennington College. He took part in the Amala Global Secondary Diploma (GSD) in 2022-23, and built his capacity as a leader and entrepreneur with class projects which had real impact in the community. During his time at Amala, Mukunzi was chosen as a Lumiere Research Scholar. The Lumiere Programme connects young people with mentors at top universities to work on a research programme, and Mukunzi investigated which strategies the government of Kenya together with UNHCR could implement to foster a supportive and reliable school environment in refugee camps. "Life is a mystery that finds meaning through service to others”, says Mukunzi.
In 2025, having graduated from the Amala GSD, Mukunzi was selected for the Elimisha programme, which supported him to successfully apply for the full scholarship to Bennington College.
“Amala was a great, impactful, eye-opening learning platform that equipped me with knowledge and skills I was searching for in high school. It’s been a stepping stone to Elimisha Kakuma. I’m a living testimony of what Amala and Elimisha Kakuma stand for!”
The Amala Global Secondary Diploma supports students to build the skills they need to succeed on Elimisha’s competitive programme. Leadership, taking initiative, and projects which have a positive impact on the community. This is exemplified by two Amala alumnae securing places in the next cohort of the Elimisha programme: Saido, the founder of Girl Power Action Initiative, and Wilma, who runs an initiative to end violence against women and girls.
Anika Brennan, Program Manager at Elimisha, says that “one thing that’s always stood out among Amala students is their problem solving skills. They know how to step up when they see an issue and how to create solutions that are meaningful.”
Stronger together: what partnership makes possible
Universities are looking not just at grades, but for students who can think critically, work across differences, and bring something distinct to a classroom. That's what the Amala and Elimisha programmes build together. Anika Brennan explains that Elimisha students consistently point to the value of learning alongside peers from completely different backgrounds and experiences - something that Amala students describe too, often reflecting that the diversity of the Global Secondary Diploma is one of the most formative parts of the programme. It is the combination of a broad skillset of transferable, real-life skills that make Amala alumni stand out when they reach Elimisha, and stand out again when they reach university.
“The Elimisha programme focuses on critical thinking: how you defend what you believe; skills that are needed at university but which aren’t prioritised in the Kenyan university system, which ensures entry, but not success, at university. At Elimisha, we focus on how you build up those skills, critical thinking and writing. What we’ve seen with Amala students is that those skills are engrained within the Amala model.”
Mukunzi's story - and Saido and Wilma being accepted on the next cohort of Elimisha fellows - shows what can happen when organisations working in emergency settings build on each other's strengths instead of working in isolation. Amala equips students with the skills, confidence and credentials to compete for opportunities most of the world assumes are out of reach for those living in refugee camps. Elimisha turns that preparation into a place at university.
Amala alumni move through the Elimisha pipeline are showing that refugee youth in Kakuma have the talent and drive to succeed at the highest level and unleash their extraordinary potential. Partnerships have the power to open those doors.