Refugees, host community supported during Covid-19

Mary Acheng, a person living with disability in Boroli 2 block A and a mother of six was left stranded with her children when the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) struck in 2019. 

She says food rations were reduced and even the little food they received once every after two months, was scrapped.

Youths were trained in various skills including hair dressing

Children were not going to school, so they had to eat all time, yet the food was not enough.

Her 12-year-old daughter also needed menstrual hygiene management kits. 

However, she was not able to access them because of the lack of money since all businesses were closed and restrictions on movements were imposed. 

Acheng was not alone, 14-year- old Immaculate, also a refugee living in Boroli 1 block A, was unable to buy sanitary kits. 

Her parents who were porters could no longer go to work because of the restrictions on movements. 

Some water sources were rehabilitated and are now functioning.

This rendered them incapable of buying her menstrual hygiene management kits, hence she would stay indoors whenever she was in her periods. 

“Even clothes were not enough so it was hard for me to cut those I had to use as menstrual hygiene kits. The only solution was to stay indoors,” she says. 

Christine Litua living in Boroli 2 Block A is a caregiver. She lives with three children separated from their parents. 

She says they were abandoned by their parents after the lockdown was imposed. 

“They were living alone so I decided to stay with them. However, feeding them was a tag-of-war since they needed to eat all day,” she says.

Training of medical workers was also key.

When COVID-19 broke out, refugees were found to be hit hard and highly vulnerable since they were already dependent on assistance from development partners and non-government organizations.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Participatory Assessment Findings (October 2020), COVID-19 left most children vulnerable. 

The majority were children with disability, orphans, adolescent girls (aged 12-17), and child-headed households.

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) became rampant and reported common types included; rape, defilement, intimate partner violence, and verbal and emotional abuse. 

Also, community Focus Group Discussion (FGD) reported challenges of fear of retaliation, stigmatization, lack of accessible and reliable services including justice, police, courts, and inadequate response.

There were also continued shocks, including food ration cuts, high market prices as well as loss of income, and movement restrictions due to COVID-19.

Titus Jogo, the Refugee Desk Officer in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for Adjumani and Lamwo districts, says COVID-19 put pressure on the host community who often shared the same resources and infrastructure as refugees, hence there was a risk of rising tensions over competition for increasingly scarce resources.

 He added that it also hampered access to education caused by the closure of schools and the inability of most children to benefit from distance learning alternatives.

"Water sources such as boreholes were not functioning with parts worn-out hence in some instances, both the refugee and host communities conflicted over the few functional water sources among others,” he said.

According to Paskas Amaza, the chairman Adjumani head pump mechanics association, many boreholes in the district had dilapidated platforms due to soil erosion. 

This led to direct sources of contamination to the underground water and worn-out pump parts, and they were discharging water with a rusty taste.

Adding that there was a high content of iron in some locations which corroded galvanized iron pipes and need for replacement.

 “The cost of pump parts in the open market was very high so the local communities could not afford repairs. Some water source management committees were also dormant,” Amaza said.

On the issue of surveillance, John Aliku, the health sub-district surveillance focal parson Adjumani said when COVID-19 was reported in the district, everyone was unprepared.

“We did not have personal protective materials, had no kits, among others. This called for urgent intervention,” he says.

Margaret Akello, a VHT from Gonyilaa village says, their major challenge during COVID 19 was moving to the communities to offer services to the people without having protective gear. 

They did not have equipment such as temperature guns, gloves, and sanitisers, among others.

According to Jogo, these challenges called for urgent support to ensure an adequate COVID-19 response for refugees as well as the host community, yet many humanitarian actors were already struggling to provide adequate support.

He, however, said as many NGOs were shying away, Plan International Uganda (PIU) stepped in and intervened in various areas where OPM and other agencies supporting refugees work.

Milton Oyita - Project Manager Belgian Alliance for Humanitarian International Action (BAHIA) Project PIU, says they got funding from BAHIA hence they stepped in to support various measures to control the spread of COVID-19, but also mitigate its multi-dimensional effects on the humanitarian crisis.

He says that the interventions were implemented in refugee settlements of Pagirinya 1 & 2 and Boroli, and the neighbouring host communities of Pakele and Dzaipi sub-counties in Adjumani District.

Richard Katamba, the area programme manager of West Nile PIU explains that the major objectives and goals of their interventions were to contribute to the preparedness and response to the primary and secondary impacts of COVID-19 on populations identified in the Global Humanitarian Response Plan.

Contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic through strengthened prevention and response capacities of communities, and local and international actors.

Prevent the ability of the most vulnerable and affected people to meet the additional food consumption and other basic needs caused by the pandemic, through their productive activities and access to social safety nets and humanitarian assistance.

Promote equal access to essential services for vulnerable affected communities and have the most vulnerable people put in place mechanisms for protection and resilience in the face of distress and /or risk of violence and abuse, among others.

According to Katamba, a total of 41,460 beneficiaries, 1,200 specifically with livelihood, 1,450 protection, 23,506 (6,813 girls & 16,693 women) and 17,954 (7,142 boys and 10,812 men) were targeted.

According to him, they rehabilitated 50 communal boreholes and installed 63 Handwash Stations in schools, hospitals / Health Centres and marketplaces, trained VHT members, distributed hygiene kits to vulnerable girls in settlements and PPEs to medical staff and distributed sterilization kits, among others.

There was also training of health workers on SOPs, vaccination, and testing protocol. 

Health staff were provided with specialized MHPSS including of HWs on Psychosocial First Aid, Conduct of Peer-to-Peer Sessions among HWs & Peer support activities, and regular supervision & mentorship of HWs.

Supported counselling sessions for health workers on self-care, provision of recreational activities for health workers, and regular visits by Psychiatrists.

Grace Amadrio, the assistant nursing officer in charge of Lewa Health Centre 2 in Pakele sub-county, says they received handwashing facilities such as buckets, and tanks among others.

As medical personnel, we were also given masks, sanitisers, jik, and liquid soap, and our borehole was repaid which had taken three years since it broke down. 

Also, the refugees were supported with the preservation ability of the most vulnerable and affected people to meet the additional food consumption and other basic needs caused by the pandemic, through their productive activities and access to social safety nets and humanitarian assistance.

Milton says there was distribution of cash to foster families aimed at supporting vulnerable children (to reduce the risk of relying on negative coping strategies).

According to Litua, her children were given a cash transfer of sh180, 000 and the money was used to buy food for the children, buy soap, and clothes, among others.

Farmers were also skilled in income-generating activities, which included practical Agronomic skills training/demonstration on nursery bed establishment & farm management among others, and after each was given seed varieties.

The youth were also placed on a three-month training in vocational skills including, salon, carpentry & joinery, mechanics & computer, among others.

18-year-old Harriet Irachi is a resident of Pakele sub-county. She says when the lockdown was imposed, schools were closed so she had nothing to do at home.

However, she was identified and was taken for a tailoring course in Bira community youth skills empowerment training Centre. She enrolled for three months and today she has mastered tailoring clothes.

“I was given a free sewing machine and soon I will start a small shop in the village. At the youth centre, we are also trained in the dangers of early marriages, and we are also given free sanitary towels,” she says.

David Anyase another youth who benefited from the programme, says he was identified by PIU and was taken to Royal Hairdressing Centre where he enrolled in a hair plaiting and hair cutting courses.

“Today I am a professional hairdresser and am going to start my salon. Before I was just spending time in trading centres doing nothing,” Anyase says.