World Refugee Day: Children join efforts to promote peaceful coexistence

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As Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the 2024 International World Refugee Day, refugee children in Bidi bidi refugee settlement have joined efforts to promote peaceful coexistence between them and members of the host communities.

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It’s celebrated every June 20 and shades light on the rights, needs and dreams of those forced to flee.

Bidi bidi refugee settlement in the northwestern district of Uganda is hosting over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees that continue to flee the ongoing civil war between the government and rebels.

According to authorities in the area, back in the time the struggle for resources like firewood, water and land were intense between refugees and members of the host community. 

Sympathy Ayite, 16, a refugee in village 15 Bidi bidi refugee settlement came to Uganda from South Sudan in 2016 together with her family due to war.

Ayit said in the camp, they formed a peer group that would move out to look for firewood and water, however said they would often get into fights with members of the host communities for the limited resources.

“I survived being cut and killed by a man whom we tried to fight when he got us on his farm cutting firewood without his permission,” she narrated.

Ayite said it was at this point that joined the village 15 children peace club to try and participate in peace building within our communities.

Members of the children’s peace club at Limu safe space village 15 Bidi Bidi refugee settlement during a club discussion recently. (Photo by Lawrence Mulondo)

Ayite is a part of the village 15 children’s peace club at Limu child friendly space whose membership is 30 members chaired by fourteen-year-old Alex Duku.

The club is one of the many that have been formed in the settlement and its host communities by Plan International under their two-year project dubbed Promoting Resilience of Adolescents and Children in Crises Together (PROACT).

Funded by the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, the project is being implemented in Bidi Bidi’s zones two and three and host communities including Lori, Balakara town council, Kululu and Bijo.

The club members’ roles include spreading messages of peace among their communities and conducting advocacy campaigns to end violence against children through conducting awareness sessions in their communities.

Others are conducting go back to school campaigns and conducting peer to peer support by providing basic psychological support among others.

The clubs are open to children members of 30 between the age of 12 to 19 who meet at designated safe spaces on agreed-upon days to discuss different issues.

Badru Draiko the child protection in emergency officer for PROACT explained that the main objective of the project is to ensure children and adolescents are protected from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation in communities, on top of survivors getting access to quality protection services and psychosocial support.

“It is our mandate as child protection partners under the child friendly space management to empower children and adolescents to form the peace group and ensure their sustainability,” he said.

Government reacts

Mariam Nakasango, the assistant community service officer, Office of the Prime Minister refugee desk Bidi Bidi settlement said they are observing more coexistence between children in schools and communities.

Nakasango said those days children from host communities did not want to study in schools situated in refugee settlements but now they have enrolled there.

She added that fighting amongst children was rampant however the peace clubs have tamed these down.

“It is now a brotherhood mood as we now see refugees move to far host communities teaming up with host landlords to grow food together,” the OPM officer said.

“Children and adolescents, particularly girls now have improved access to information, resources, and services that build their safety and resilience,” she said.

Jamal Brahan Abdi, the Yumbe district senior education officer said children represent the future of the country and therefore, engaging them in peace building early on is important.

Abdi said the clubs are promoting peace amongst children and these carry on the same messages back home promoting more peaceful coexistence.

“As leaders, our message has always been these are our brothers and let's stay with them in a very harmonious manner and so far, we have not registered very serious cases of conflict between host children and refugees,” he said.

What other children say

Gladys Yobu, a member of the club said the club discussions empower her with knowledge and confidence that she is using to encourage other children that had dropped out of school to do re-entry.

Benjamin Odongtho a member of Limu Safe Space peace club explained whenever he finds people with wrong thoughts like those that want to commit suicide, he sits them down and give them good advice. He said even those that often fight he sits them down and highlights to them the dangers of fights like death and imprisonment.

Alex Duku, the chairperson of the peace club at LImu safe space said in the club they always encourage children to be role models in communities especially in environment conservation.