Mohammed Hassan Mohamud, a Kenyan refugee from Kakuma camp, made a debut as the first refugee ever to Co-chair the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting.
Mohamud steered the meeting running between January 22 and 25 at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
From the dusty streets of Kakuma, the man co-chaired alongside World renown leaders including South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In the meeting attended by global leaders including UK's Prince William, the world convened under the theme Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
"Invest in people, invest in humans. Let’s go away from giving aid and handouts to refugees, to giving them marketable skills and education. I’m not asking for a car, I’m asking for equal opportunity.
"...It surprises me that money can move around the world in seconds, but in the case of a refugee - it takes decades...I get my story is inspiring, but what do I inspire you to do?" Mohamud stated.
Although he may not be a household name back in Kenya, Mohamud made an impressive presentation as one of young Global Shapers who are co-chairing WEF.
Unknown to many, Mohamud, a refugee from Somalia, lost his parents to the war and has spent the past 18 years in Kakuma Refugee Camp which had over 150,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers at the end of November 2018.
He studies as a correspondence student but despite being accepted into a number of Ivy League universities, Mohamud has no way of financing his education.
In his address at the WEF meeting, Mohamud rallied the global community to recognise that refugee camps shouldn’t be a permanent address.
"I want to be the last generation of people who are confined to camps for 20 years. No human deserves to be in a camp for that long, it really messes with your head," Mohamud had stated before embarking from Kakuma.
Here is a video of part of Mohamud's address during the WEF Meeting 2019:
"I am asking for all of you to demystify the refugee experience. We are not animals and we are not criminals. It is not a crime to flee from your country. I don't know what you're all afraid of." Mohammed Hassan Mohamud with a message for humanity @ #wef19 https://t.co/Ns4dSsT8S2
