Kenyan innovation space iHub has partnered Danish Refugee Camp to offer mobile application development training to refugees in the Dadaab refugee camp.
Dadaab, in Garissa County, is the site of a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) base that hosts over 320,000 refugees, making it the largest such complex in the world.
Danish Refugee Council has been engaged by UNHCR as one of its implementing partners to undertake various educational activities in Daadab, and the organisation has now partnered iHub to train refugees in mobile app development.
The first phase of the programme will involve training 90 refugees in four main camps on Android programming, with the course comprising of theoretical and practical aspects of Android. At the end of the course, the students will create real-life applications which can serve as a basis for future projects.
Training has already begun, and will run for a period of four months. The curriculum includes understanding and appreciating the mobile ecosystem, how to develop apps for Android smart devices, understanding development and business opportunities for mobile platforms, creating simple applications based on Android programming language, and knowing how to distribute and monetise Android apps.
Late last year, iHub conducted a one-day training event for some refugees from Dadaab at m:lab East Africa. Then, it became evident there was a need for more in-depth training, hence the partnership with Danish Refugee Camp.
