Praxis in a Refugee Camp?

Meanings of Participation and Empowerment for Long-Term Refugee Youth

Abstract

*Focus on Africa | Research Articles

Given the uniquely disempowering context of the refugee camp, and particularly the limitations on young refugees’ opportunities for realizing self-determination and self-sufficiency, it cannot be assumed that participatory action research (PAR) is an applicable methodology. This paper analyzes whether a PAR project conducted with youth in a long-term refugee camp in northeastern Kenya contributed to the empowerment of participants. An account of the experiences and outcomes of the PAR project is provided from the perspectives of the visiting facilitator and the youth participants. These accounts demonstrate the important psychological gains and capacity-building that PAR can support, but also reflect the inherent tensions of applying PAR in situations where participants are not expected to gain enough power to significantly change their disempowering circumstances.