Refugees, OPM call for extension of empowerment project
Apr 15, 2024
According to the stakeholders, the move will curtail the rate of starvation with associated malnutrition, which has continued to increase in Rhino camp Refugee Settlement.
The members of a farmer group weeding their vegetable farm in Refugee settlemt to supplement their supplent their food
Robert Adiga
Journalist @New Vision
___________________ Dixon Odur, the media and communication Coordinator Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Beneficiaries of a refugee-empowerment project, the leadership, and the Office of the Prime Minister in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement are calling for its extension.
According to the stakeholders, the move will curtail the rate of starvation with associated malnutrition, which has continued to increase in Rhino camp Refugee Settlement.
The starvation, they say, has been compounded by the reduction of food ration and complete weaning off of some refugees in the region by the United Nations World Food Program.
OPM and refugee beneficiaries' appeal for an extension as the three-year multispectral response to meet the basic humanitarian needs of people affected by displacement and vulnerable host communities in Africa project comes to a close.
The economic empowerment project, which has transformed the lives of over 14,000 refugees, was implemented by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) with funding from the German Ministry of Foreign Office (GFFO).
It aimed at enhancing the well-being and protection of affected persons, including refugees and host communities, by improving their access to vital information, legal assistance, physical protection, privacy, safety, and security of tenure for both land and housing.
OPM commend intervention
The settlement commandant Rhino camp Refugee Settlement in OPM, Armitage Basikania, says the project has helped in several interventions including legal documentation, land access, and village savings and loans associations (VSLAs), which have helped to empower the beneficiaries economically amidst the food prioritisation approach.
Refugee leadership appeals for an extension
Bernard Andama Cosmas, the Refugee Welfare Council One chairperson for Ariaze B village, Siripi Zone in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, confessed that in the past three years, the project has improved the food productivity of the beneficiaries and reduced hunger cases as members engage in economic empowerment activities like farming and savings.
“Since the food rations reduced people resorted to agriculture and they are now growing their food. The leaders of the groups are passing the knowledge to other non-members and my request to the donors is that given the impact created by the project, it is still early to leave the beneficiaries since we want more members to benefit,” Andama said.
Beneficiary testimonies
Haruni Okpe, a beneficiary from Ariaze B village, who is also the secretary for Cubuya Farmers Group, said the group made over shillings 2.8 million in the sale of cassava and sim-sim and over shillings 1.4 million in the cultivation of vegetables. The group also received shillings 2.2 million from the National Resistance Movement party.
“We have also saved shillings 4.2 million as a group in the VSLA and I saved shillings 580,000, which has helped me to pay school fees and afford other basic needs in the family. We have already secured two acres of land for this season and hope to make enough money this year if the climate allows,” Okpe said.
Jackline Sunday, 30, a single mother in Ariaze B village, said before joining the group, she could not support herself and the needs of the children until 2022 when she joined and is now able to afford basic needs and school fees for the children.
“I have secured an acre (rent) at a cost of shillings 100,000 and this time I hope to produce enough food for my family and sale. The money, which I save in the VSLA I have been using to pay school fees and to open a business in the market, now my life is better,” Jackline said.
Changing identity details
Likewise, at St Mary’s Ediofe Girls Secondary School in Arua City, some beneficiaries in candidate classes will be able to sit for this year’s Uganda National Examination Board after the project helped them rectify irregularities in their names.
Neema Komoni Charles, 18, a student of Ediofe Girls Secondary School from Bidibidi Zone 3, village 7, benefited from the project.
“Initially, my name on the attestation was Adili Neema and the one at school was Komoni Neema Charles, which gave me challenges when registering for UNEB. I was, therefore, instructed to harmonise my details. I approached NRC and they facilitated for me deed poll which would be expensive for my parents and now I am comfortably registered and waiting for the exams”, Said Sarah
Sarah Gaba Moses, another Senior Four candidate at the same school also benefitted from NRC's free deed poll.
Call for more support
Dixon Odur, the NRC media and communication coordinator said despite the key achievements registered by the project, there is a need for more donor support for sustained refugee response in terms of durable support.
“Their income helps to empower them. We have built structures and their capacities to ensure continuity in the project after the closure. However, it should not stop here because the need is still great so it is a call to the donors to further support us so that we can provide longer-term intervention where we can see tangible impacts," Odur said.
How the project helped refugees and host communities
The project in the last three years helped refugees and host communities by providing cash to facilitate rent and access to documentation, helped refugees and host communities obtain legal and civil documentation, resolved disputes on housing, land, and property, researched and advocated for housing, land and property rights, legal identity and employment laws and procedures, provision of information services and training sessions on housing, land and property, refugee status determination, legal identity, access to essential services, collaborative dispute resolution and employment laws and procedures as well as lead on durable solutions about local integration of refugees into their host communities.
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