The Justin Bieber of
Kakuma Refugee Camp
I fled the war in South Sudan when I was still very young, together with my twin sister. Now I am a talented singer in Refugee Camp Kakuma in Kenya. I want to be like Justin Bieber. My song that talks about the corona virus, became the best in the entire county! My name is Akoon Dong. I am well known by my stage name as Kriz Snazzy. I am 24 years old, South Sudanese by nationality. I fled from my home country in 2003. I moved to Kakuma Refugee Camp together with my twin sister. I left my country because of the civil war that scattered my family. I didn't know the whereabouts of my parents and siblings. I was left with my twin sister. Luckily a man found us after having wandered for days. He was able to recognize us and explained that our stepmother, the first wife of my father who left the country in 1994, lived in Kakuma. We didn't have any other option than to move to Kakuma where our stepmother lived. I live with her for several years now, and I still don't know the whereabouts of my biological mother. Upon arriving in Kakuma, we found it is a nice place. There is security and free education. Kakuma is a good place for anyone to live in. However, the major challenge in Kakuma are the hot and dry climatic conditions and the poor living standards. Life is difficult in Kakuma. For instance, we eat once a day and it is not even a balanced diet. So we merely eat what is available and there is no choice since none of us has a job. My stepmother always tries hard to budget the ration we receive from the UNHCR, to sustain us until the next distribution of food. But despite the odds, we are still grateful because all that matters most is our safety and health! In 2010 I realized my musical talent. I got inspired by a well-known professional musician, Justin Bieber. I often listen to his songs and watch his videos. And eventually I got interested in music. So I started writing my songs in 2011 at the age of 15. I was still in primary grade seven. In secondary school I was lucky to share the stage with one of Kenyans finest Hip-Hop artists, known as Octopizzo. This became my dearest memory. It made me realize that I can become what I want soon. Upon completing my secondary education in 2016 I had the chance to focus on my music career. I began performing in various events like World Refugee Day, Kakuma Got Talent and so many other events. So far I have sixteen songs. I have recorded six songs. Ten songs haven’t yet been recorded due to lack of money. I wrote them in my book and I hope to record all of them soon. My biggest dream is to become like Justin Bieber. I strongly believe I will achieve it through hard work. I love music for so many reasons. I believe music can help me change my living standard. Through music, I can easily pass a message to the youth in my community and in various other parts of the world. For instance, during the Corona pandemic, my song that talks about the corona virus directives and measures, became the best in the entire Turkana West County. I was able to educate the larger communities on how to curb the spread of the virus through my song. Music also promotes national integrity and this brings peace to the community and the entire world. I sing in the most commonly used languages like English and Kiswahili for effective passage of the information. Moreover, this makes it easy for anybody to listen to my music and enjoy it. Music is a great food for the soul. It keeps the person calm and the mind away from stress. I have already inspired much youth from my community through my music and some of them have realized that they can also become successful in music. Others have formed groups for dancing and they are doing well. They keep themselves busy and this prevents them from taking drugs and getting engaged in immoral activities. My dream is to become a professional musician and to be acknowledged by the entire world. My dream for Kakuma is to make every youth in Kakuma realize their talent and make them focus on building their talent. This will help so many of them to be busy and stay away from drug abuse. To anyone that has never been to Kakuma, I would like to tell them that Kakuma is a nice place. It is a home of opportunities. Living in Kakuma is interesting because you will have a chance to learn about different cultures and languages. Refugees are people who promote peace and value humanity. Kakuma made me who I am today. I am proud of Kakuma. I am Kakuma.
