Chana Santino: Turning Training into Courage
Chana Santino Ismael remembers being vividly trapped at a lager, chased by two machete welding men after she decided to take a shortcut on her way to school. The dry river bed, at the heart of Kakuma refugee camp, one of Africa's biggest refugee settlements and home to over 320,000 refugees, seemed a convenient and easier route. However, walking on the deserted road, she questioned her decision, but in a moment, recalled the lessons EmpowerVan had taken her through in February 2026.
“The men immediately raised a red flag, just by their composure. I started drawing from what Ms. Claude had taught us on how to observe a stranger. I noted in my mind that these people were not good. I assessed what I had, and realized that I had carried a book and a pen and had left my phone, which gave me a bit of security. However, my biggest fear was that they would rape me. I started asking myself, “How will I wait for two gentlemen to do something stupid to me?”” she said during an interview.
She started planning her escape. By the time she reached near them, they had schemed that one of them would be in front of her while the other chased her from behind. She recalled being told by her trainers to always analyze the grounds and seek alternative routes, a decision she made in split seconds. She started moving faster before she took off her shoes and broke into a run, entering a nearby farm while screaming for help. Luckily, the workers heard her and came to her rescue, forcing her would-be attackers to flee.
“I knew they had monitored me for a while. One of them said in Swahili “ Leo lazima nikukamate” (Today I have to catch you). It was clear that they had ill intentions, but applying situational awareness as I had learnt from EmpowerVan came in very handy,” she recalls.
Her journey with EmpowerVan gives more than the Gender Based Violence (GBV) training that were advertised when she answered the call for application.
“It has taught me confidence, relating with people, communication skills and even conflict resolution,” Santino added.
Her initial training with EmpowerVan in February 2026, was focused on self-defense techniques, and though she initially brushed them off as something that will not help her. She felt that the three-day training was so congested and packed, only for it to start making sense a few days later when she was walking in the camps.
The June training reinforced what participants learned in February and introduced skills to prepare them to become ESD instructors themselves. They also learned additional communication, empowerment, awareness, facilitation and self-defense techniques. The curriculum for this training was based on the participant’s feedback from the February training.
Originally from Sudan, the now Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) instructor says that the biggest part of this journey was her power to say “No” to an uncomfortable situation.
“This was a game changer as I could no longer accept things that made me shrink to accommodate others,” she added.
Having relocated from Sudan to Kakuma in Kenya, in pursuit of education, which had been a nightmare due to the active war, she admits being part of the EmpowerVan team gave her more than she had imagined.
“It is so wholesome. I felt like I got basic education in school, but EmpowerVan has taught me a lot of life skills that I can apply in my day-to-day life,” she added.
And as a way to give back to the community, she currently facilitates Empowerment Self Defense sessions to girls aged 18 -25, living in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
“I want all the ladies in the space to feel safe, and to know of the power they hold in their hands. I want to empower them as much as I have been empowered. They keep asking for more of the training and it is nice to see how much they yearn for the knowledge,” she adds.
She utilizes her skills to mold her community into the world she wants to see.
“As long as the community needs my help, I am ready to offer my skills with the knowledge I have gained. I want to continue sharpening them as I sharpen myself too. That is how we can change the world,” she adds.