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UN PhotoUGANDA / GRANDI VISIT
STORY: UGANDA / GRANDI VISIT
TRT: 06:07
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SWAHILI / NATS
DATELINE: 18 - 21 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
18 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
1. Various shots, Mahoro Florence and her children sharing a meal
2. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Mahoro Florence, Congolese Refugee:
“We decided to leave DRC when rebels kidnapped my husband and took him to the bush, they asked us for money, and we gave them what we could. Then they released him. Two weeks later they came for more money. We didn’t have any so my husband fled to Uganda. Then they started coming to me for money. They kept dropping leaflets at my door saying if I don’t give them money, they will come for me or my child. So, we fled and came to Uganda.”
3. Various shots, Florence feeding chicken
4. Close up, chicken
5. Med shot, Florence examining chicken
6. Wide shot, Florence standing near chicken
7. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Mahoro Florence, Congolese Refugee:
“Through the savings group I was able to take a loan, I can save some money and also have access to loans that will help me start other projects. So, I started a poultry project. I buy chicks and when they mature, I sell them, that is how I made money to build this house and our lives as a family changed, things improved compared to when we arrived here.”
21 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
8. Various shots, Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner, meeting Florence at her home
9. Various shots, Florence showing Grandi her poultry project
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations:
“She has a poultry project, and she grows mangoes and bananas as you see behind me and this is for the consumption of the family but also to use as business to sell in the local market and to supplement the very meagre support that she gets through humanitarian aid, it is this type of resilience entrepreneurship that we need to find, nurture and support.”
11. Various shots, Grandi and delegation walking in Mahani Transit Centre
12. Various shots, meeting with newly arrived refugee women
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations:
“I have hardly ever heard such painful and terrifying stories of killings of rapes of children abused in front of their mother of pregnant women hacked to pieces by armed groups by terror raining in all areas of eastern Congo.”
18 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
14. Various shots, UNHCR bus carrying new arrivals driving into reception centre
15. Close up, elderly woman getting off bus
16. Various shots, people getting off bus with their luggage
17. Med shot, people walking in a reception centre
21 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations:
“I worked as a young field officer more than 30 years ago in eastern Congo and the situation has not fundamentally changed so it is peace that is needed more than anything else.”
18 OCTOBER 2024, RWAMWANJA, UGANDA
19. Wide shot, new arrivals
20. Close up, hot meal being served
21. Various shots, refugees receiving meal
For decades, Uganda’s settlement approach, has supported refugee self-reliance and equal access to services but funding gaps now threaten the progressive policy, at a time when the country is facing an influx of refugees escaping conflict in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The continuous influx of refugees into Uganda is putting significant pressure on protection and assistance services provided to refugees and their host communities.
The country is welcoming an increasing number of Sudanese arrivals seeking safety from conflict in Sudan. In addition, every week refugees mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, driven by ongoing conflicts and climate-related challenges cross into Uganda.
While on a visit to the east African nation this week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo
Grandi called for global support as Uganda hosts a growing number of refugees.
Grandi met refugee families who have been living in Rwamwanja for several years. They shared how Uganda’s inclusive policies promote refugee self-reliance and equal access to services alongside host communities. Key features include land allocation, freedom of movement, the right to work, access to social services, and community engagement.
These opportunities have helped refugees provide for themselves, their families and contribute to the
development of the host community.
Mahoro Florence, a single mother of six, fled conflict in Congo in 2018 when rebels threatened to take her away or her son if she failed to give them money. Earlier on the rebels kidnapped her husband twice and released him after being paid ransom. When they came looking for him again, he fled to Uganda. Florence left soon after with her children to find safety in Rwamwanja, southwestern Uganda. Florence also took in two more children after their mother, who was her friend, died this year.
Today Florence has built a house on a plot of land. She also runs a motorbike taxi business, keeps chicken for sale and leads a women’s savings and loan group known as ‘Wamama ni Nguvu’ or mothers are strong. Together the women have invested in a farm project where they grow rice that’s later sold in the local market.
Florence says members are able to access soft loans, which has helped many of them start their own businesses.
Uganda’s unique settlement approach, which allows refugees access to land and essential basic national services exemplifies the Global Compact on Refugees in action.
The UNHCR chief also met Congolese refugees who recently arrived at the Mahani Reception Centre, where they will be housed as they wait to be resettled on plots of land in the settlement. The new arrivals talked about the challenges they faced escaping horrific violence and abuse at home.
Grandi said each time he visits Uganda he is impressed by the generosity of the Ugandan people and the progressive policies of its government. At a time when intolerance and indifference towards human suffering prevail. Uganda remains an inspiring example of how inclusion improves the lives of refugees and the communities hosting them.
But the strain on resources is increasing, with limited support for refugees to sustain themselves. Uganda is home to the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in Africa, hosting over 1.75 million refugees, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and South Sudan.
The arrival of close to 400,000 refugees in nearly 3 years is putting a strain on host communities. In September, UNHCR declared an emergency in Uganda due to the influx of over 57,000 Sudanese refugees fleeing the ongoing conflict after 18 months. The future is at stake with over 1 million of the refugees in Uganda being under the age of 18.
International support is urgently needed to sustain Uganda’s commitment to refugee protection and inclusion.
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