Halima Aden just visited the Kenyan refugee camp where she was born

And she travelled via the UAE.

We’re big fans of Halima Aden around here. The Somali-American model rose to fame when she competed in a US beauty pageant wearing her hijab, and she’s since gone on to front campaigns for Nike, cover major magazines, and walk the runway alongside models like Gigi Hadid.

It’s an impressive rise, and it all started in a refugee camp in Kenya. Now, the 20-year-old model has gone back to her roots.

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Aden has spent time this week at Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya, and it looks like it was an incredibly rewarding experience.

A post shared by UN Refugee Agency (@refugees) on Jun 10, 2018 at 8:40am PDT

Travelling with a UN Refugee Agency-organised group of former refugees, Aden said she was “so grateful” to have the chance to return to the camp.

“This camp taught me so many lessons… A lot has changed since I’ve left but we still have along way to go,” she wrote on Instagram.

A post shared by Halima (@halima) on Jun 11, 2018 at 10:19am PDT

As well as giving a speech in the camp about her life and career, Aden found time to get to know some of the local wildlife.

Wonder what that little boy & his mom were thinking 😂❤️

A post shared by Halima (@halima) on Jun 10, 2018 at 9:59am PDT

And, as a little bit of a scroll back on her Instagram reveals, Aden travelled via the UAE. She made time to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.