UG 05 - HELPING REFUGEE CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL

This project is being carried out in the Diocese of Arua, inside the Rhino refugee camp. Specifically, in an area called Yoro Settlement Camp. The Rhino camp was opened in 1980 and expanded during the civil war in South Sudan, hosting the flood of refugees who flocked to Northern Uganda. In 2016, almost 490,000 refugees found refuge in Uganda due to the violent clashes that broke out in July of the same year in South Sudan. Over 90% of the refugees are women and children.

Currently, there are approximately 160,000 refugees hosted at the Rhino Camp. Due to the dramatic and unstoppable daily flow, worsened by the outbreak of the war in Northern Sudan, the resources that the country makes available to refugees are painfully dwindling: in Rhino, refugees are given rocky or sandy plots of land, which are difficult to use to start self-sustaining agricultural activities, and with limited access to drinking water. Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity among refugees (43%) and host communities (44%). The two schools in the Camp are crowded, with many children unable to attend school.

We, the Comboni Missionary Sisters, have decided to extend our presence in the Yoro refugee settlement camp following the call of the bishop of the Catholic diocese of Arua to lend a hand, and to broaden our horizons to the new suburbs so dear to Pope Francis. Yoro is the place where many refugees from South Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and now North Sudan have been assigned; about 200 refugees continue to arrive every day.

In these situations of human and spiritual degradation, after a serious evaluation, we have decided to intervene especially in the educational field, giving a contribution to these families so that they can send their children to school. We are aware that education is only one of the ingredients for building a better human life. We therefore spend a lot of energy trying to give these children an education, not only academic but also human, instilling in them the true values ​​on which their future as free citizens and advocates of a new world must be based.

• Helping young people through education to build a dignified and autonomous future.
• Improving the conditions of refugee families.

Direct: 50 children from nursery school, 40 children from primary school

Indirect: families

Referent sister of the project: Sr. Atim Janet