Anabol, from Spain, is a Gender Based Violence (GBV) specialist. She was on ten day loan from CARE-Canada. She was in Imvepi Settlement to examine how CARE can further mitigate GBV. I accompanied her on this day, when she conducted separate sessions with women, men, and teens to draw a map of the settlement and have them indicate weak points where security should be improved, often by adding a light at night, and assessing where harassment. happens. Next stop for Anabol is a three month stint in Columbia with a different NGO..
As you may know, I was somewhat frustrated by ‘down times’ during my service in Bugiri. There were lots of reasons for this. I tried to go with the flow.
Now I might be a victim of the bromide “Be careful what you wish for…” I have been working 50-60 hours per week, including all day Saturday, I worked at home half of Sunday editing reports from senior staff which were due Monday morning. Usually I am at the office by 7:30 a.m. and I often get home at 7 p.m. It appears the other third year extension PCVs are also working hard. Anytime I go to a settlement it takes nearly two hours each way, and bracing against bumps in the road adds to fatigue.
I have a small pile of projects on my plate right now, and activities scheduled most days, as my work niche becomes clearer. I am learning to edit reports sent by project leaders and incorporating them into CARE’s portion of reports from all NGOs which are submitted to UNHCR and Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). I’m sure I will be writing and/or editing many other reports.
I’ve been tasked to draft 1-2 page descriptions of CARE’s Six Current Emergency Projects and Sectors. Right now CARE’s responsibilities are primarily in three sectors: 1) Building temporary shelters for People with Special Needs ((PSNs)- Unaccompanied mothers and/or children and disabled- and providing shelter materials to able-bodied refugees; 2) Mitigating Gender Based Violence (GBV) within the settlements; and 3) Raising awareness about, and supporting Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health.
These are examples of temporary housing in Imvepi Camp wich is newer than Rhino Camp from my last post.. White tarp is labeled with the logo of UNHCR stretched over a frame. CARE is transitioning to semi-permanent housing which will be made from bricks. They will also be partitioned in the inside to allow some separation.
At Imvepi you can see these white -tarped houses stretching for miles
Often a spouse or children become separated from the rest of their family. The office on the left maintains a data base to reunite them.
After refugees cross the border, they spend one night there, and then are bused to the Settlement where they stay in dorms like those pictured above, for up to a week, while they get registered and shelter is arranged and built for them if necessary. Bio-metric data is recorded and a card issued to obtain food and other essentials. Anabol visited the border crossing, which is currently held by rebels. She saw two of them on the bridge with rifles slung on their shoulders and flip-flops dangling from their feet, Most of the crossings occur at night when it i cooler, and she was told you can hear fighting. She was surprised to observe many Ugandans going the other way during the day to farm the fertile land, giving produce to the soldiers in exchange for safe passage. Young men are increasingly crossing in less regulated crossings in order to avoid being involuntarily conscripted by either side..
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CARE’s projects are mostly in Rhino Camp (September 1 total refugees was 102,000); Imvepi Settlement (123,500); and it has a growing presence in Bidibidi Settlement (285,000) which recently became the world’s largest refugee settlement. Currently, there are six funded projects with a variety of sources.
One issue faced by CARE is the mandate to hire locally. Uganda’s generous policy toward refugees is supported by the idea that it will be good for the economies of the local communities. It causes tension. The foreigners up here are treated well, but there is resentment if Ugandans from other areas and tribes are hired. Last week in Yumbe, near the settlements, the signage of various NGOs were defaced by graffiti threatening violence for not hiring more locals. CARE has an office there but no signs. Never-the-less, an all-staff meeting to be held in Yumbe was switched to the Arua office, so we wouldn’t have a small caravan of CARE vehicles coming in.
In addition, CARE wants to hire a new team leader from Kenya, named Julius, to take Carly’s place. The Ministry of Immigration placed a hold on his work visa because they want CARE to hire a Ugandan. Our country director appeared before a tribunal this week to get his employment approved. The new team leader will step into Carly’s shoes. Like Anabol before him, Julius is staying in the guesthouse next to my place on a visit, so I am starting to get acquainted with my soon to be future boss. I like the idea of meeting interesting visitors who pass through the guesthouse.
In other news, while the USA endures record-setting hurricanes and fires, Ugandans are not escaping their own natural disasters. I forgot to get the source, but this was a news report from last week.
6 people are confirmed dead, 10 missing but feared dead and over 40,000 are already displaced by flooding and landslides in Kisoro, Bududa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Bundibugyo, Rukungiri and Elegu of Amuru. Much of Teso is getting flooded. Another 50,000 to 80,000 people will be displaced by floods in Teso subregion and Butaleja District.Storm winds and hailstorms have ravaged thousands of plantations and crops across the whole country. The 40,000 displaced have no shelter, no food, no cooking utensils, no blankets and no household kits. In addition to starving, the victims are exposed to extreme coldness.
Hundreds of people are crying out for help. They need shelter (tents & tarpaulins), blankets, food and cooking utensils. There is urgent need for a countrywide disaster damage and loss assessment.
Another story from the Monitor about a survivor woman shown in the photo came from is here
