UAE donates 700 tonnes of food to refugees

KIRYANDONGO - Hitmat Ali, described as one of the friendliest refugees from Sudan (Khartoum) living at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, says she lost contact with her family when she was abducted by armed fighters in June 2023.

The fighters separated her from the rest of her family, including her mother and siblings who stayed at Jabra, a small town located on the southern side of Khartoum and has since been living on her own.

For months she lived with the soldiers but as fighting raged on, the group that had taken her captive was attacked, dispersed and everyone ran for their dear life. 

The UAE ambassador to Uganda, Abdalla Hassan AlShamsi (L) and the minister of state for children and youth affairs, Balaam Barugahara (C) participated in the distribution of food and other items. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

The donation targeted Sudanese refugees totalling 46,992 and continue to arrive every day. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

It was during this confusion that Ali escaped and walked to Klakla town in Jebel Awlia locality, another town in Khartoum. 

It is from where she got free transport to another town bordering South Sudan, where she was picked by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and flew in a chopper to Juba where she was registered as a refugee.

From Juba, she was transferred to Elegu border with Uganda and later transferred to Kiryandongo. 

She was recently appointed a leader in the settlement due to her good conduct, but according to Hussein Ismael, a leader for Cluster I for the Sudan community, she has a health complication that remains untreated.

She is part of the Sudanese families who escaped war, where over 15,000 people have been killed and more than 8 million others have been displaced by the fighting in a civil war that broke out two years ago.

The good news is that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government on Saturday, November 16, 2024, donated 700 tonnes of food and other items to these refugees.

The donation targeted Sudanese refugees totalling 46,992 who continue to arrive every day.

However, according to the settlement management, the donations that include other non-food items like soap, and re-usable sanitary towels, would also benefit refugees from South Sudan who total 83,300, including women and children.

The UAE ambassador to Uganda, Abdalla Hassan AlShamsi and the minister of state for children and youth affairs, Balaam Barugahara participated in the distribution of food and other items. 

“I would like to thank the Government of Uganda for supporting and allowing UAE to come to this area, without which we could not have reached the people here in need,” he said.

The envoy said it was pleasing to note that Uganda hosts more than 1.5m refugees, for which they were happy to add their support.

“Today, we are here to support Uganda and to support the refugees from Sudan, together we are stronger,” he said.

The UAE Government has also offered to construct a 25-bed complex at Panyadoli Health IV within Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement with both out-patient and patient wards, consultation rooms, administrative offices, an emergency unit with an accident unit, and a modern theatre.

The ambassador made a ground-breaking ceremony and planted a tree at the site, which is expected to be handed over in two years.

Barugahara, who represented Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said that Uganda currently hosts over 1.5m refugees from various countries and what the Government is providing in terms of support may not be sufficient.

He said that this is the reason it welcomes donations from friends from all over the world.  

He commended President Museveni for finding friends that are supplementing Uganda’s efforts and for creating a good environment that accommodates and welcomes everyone in our country. 

“On behalf of President Yoweri Museveni and the Office of the Prime Minister, we would want to say thank you to our kind brothers from UAE who have in addition to the food donation offered to construct a new fully-fledged complex at our health facility,” he stated.

The minister also thanked the UAE President for the kind gesture of donating food items to the needy refugees.

“We also thank UAE for donating to refugees mostly from Sudan and South Sudan and today marks another day in our history where another friendly country donates to people in need,” he explained, adding that the Government alone cannot provide everything for the refugees.

Alex Omeja, the settlement deputy commandant said the Sudanese refugees started arriving at the settlement in January this year and were the only currently being received.

He however stated that donations to the refugees had dwindled, creating a serious shortage in terms of food, health and education, water and other sectors.

“You can imagine each family gets three kilograms of beans for a whole month, and this has forced refugees to look for other sources of survival including working to earn a living,” he stated.  

Dr. Alex Tezita, the in-charge of Panyadoli HC4 said the facility has a catchment population of 200,000 people and only 69,273 were nationals and the rest refugees. 

He said on average, the facility receives between 400 and 500 outpatients per day and 85 deliveries per week and 300 per month.

The function was attended by Cliff Winston Alvarico, the head of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Uganda.

However, the police and leaders within the settlement faced a hard time controlling the crowds during the food distribution exercise, where men, women and older children fought for packages of items.

It called for the intervention of Barugahara and the settlement officials to restore calm.