The LuQuLuQu campaign of the United Nations Refugee Agency having launched on 31 October 2017 sees South Africa actress Nomzamo Mbatha on a weeklong journey to engage refugees staring with refugee athletes at the Ngong Hills Sports Academy and then Kakuma Refugee Camp, home to over 180,000 forcibly displaced Africans from 13 countries.
Nomzamo Mbatha, a much-adored award- winning actress and humanitarian left South Africa on Saturday, 24 February 2018, on her second visit to Kenya.
“My first visit to the country was as a 15-year-old in 2005, on a similar mission, selected to be part of 50 youths from across the continent, representing South Africa at a youth conference hosted by Save The Children Sweden. Coming back, the mission has not changed. I am moved even deeper in my pursuit of changing the narrative of the soil that birthed my people and I.” said Ms Mbatha
Ms. Mbatha’s second visit to Kenya is centered on her role as advocate for UNHCR’s LuQuLuQu campaign. With a determination to change the narrative of the African refugee and help find lasting solutions for the refugee situation, Ms. Mbatha appeals to all to join her and the other celebrities involved with the campaign, to step up and actively seek for dignified solutions to the plight of refugees.
Speaking on her mission on trip, Miss Mbatha said: “I always advocate the importance of taking on a cause, endorsement, any role for that matter, from a position of alignment with my personal mission. The plight of our displaced African brothers and sisters has been one close to my heart to support and lend my voice to – I believe, making the personal connection is key to fully champion their plight. I have to speak and action not just from a place of understanding, but of experience as well. I am filled with expectation and excitement for my two-day stay at the Kakuma Refugee Camp.”
UNHCR first hosted Miss at the Ngong Sports Academy for Refugees, which is home and training center for past and future refugee athletes. The academy houses 27 athletes, seven of which participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
“It was so moving to see the very face of HOPE and impact. That was once the run and race from violence is now that of running towards something with a purpose beyond that of despair and destitution. Team Refugee now has a voice on the world’s biggest stage, the Olympics. Team Refugee matters.” Said Miss Mbatha on her experience with the athletes.
