Economic and Socio-Cultural Impact of Refugees on the Kenyan Communities. A Case Study at Kakuma Camp

Document from the year 2017 in the subject Sociology - Individual, Groups, Society, , language: English, abstract: This study sought to investigate the economic and socio-cultural impact of refugees on the Kenyan communities. The data for this study was collected from primary and secondary sources. The research instruments were questionnaires and interview schedules. The study population comprised of 30 refugees, 10 camp officials and 20 locals. Purposive sampling was used to select 60 respondents. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, means and percentages were used in analyzing data. Unlike many communities whereby refugees are restricted to the camp, the situation in Kakuma Camp is different. The Kakuma refugees move freely to any part of the Kakuma. There is a good social relation between the host community and the refugees in Kakuma. There have been intermarriages between the refugees and the host community. The hosts and the refugees also attend some social events like weddings, funerals and child naming ceremonies together. However, there are some minor negative developments as a result of the refugees' presence for almost two decades in the Kakuma community. These negative impacts include poor sanitation, scarcity of land, security issues and moral degeneration. This notwithstanding, the positive impacts of the refugees' presence on the host community outweighed the negatives. Indeed, the presence of the refugees on Kakuma has turned the place from a small village to an urbanized centre. The Kakuma community can boast of much better modern infrastructural development springing up all over the town after the refugees' settlement. The study found the types of development that can be associated with the presence of the refugees to include the provision of banks, telecommunication and Internet cafés.