Picture New York City, the most populated city in the United States, but with 6 times as many people. Then imagine that you were never permitted to leave that city, and your parents were never permitted to leave that city, and your grandparents, and your future children.

Nearly 400,000 refugees in Dadaab, a camp in Kenya for displaced people, live in extreme overcrowding, with generations growing up stateless and without access to stable homes, education, or basic resources. After attending the 2024 Refugee Youth Summit in Kenya and meeting students who have spent their entire lives in these camps, I (Rajan Patel) founded Students for Students to raise awareness and provide direct support for their education, safety, and well-being. This holiday season, we’re launching a GoFundMe alongside our 3v3 basketball tournament to fund school supplies, meals, clean water, clothing, and youth programs for displaced children. Every donation—no matter the size—helps give these students a chance at a brighter, more dignified future. All proceeds go to Choose Love, supporting grassroots organizations working directly in camps like Dadaab.

S4S Co-founders: Rajan Patel, Gavin McKiernan, Miles Silber, Jason Osier

Check out a few images of my experience in Nairobi below. I attended the conference alongside Choose Love CEO Josie Fernandez Marelli and Co-Founder of the Global Whole Being Fund (GWBF) Negar Tayyar:

Here is a link to a video collaboration between Choose Love and Coldplay, telling the story of Omar, a young refugee who is navigating life in Malta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRBnlvMxVHY