Uganda: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
School Fees Paid for 9,756 Students: Q4 2017
February 01, 2018
Alphonse Mwanamwolho and Naku Charles Lwanga
Summary of Activities
- The vocational training program has helped enhance the peaceful coexistence of refugee and host communities, because the training is available to the host community as well.
- Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI) has been able to attract additional partners to contribute towards the success of the program, including JICA, which supported PVTI with the purchase of additional training materials.
- Both theory and practical trainings were carried out successfully; i.e., the syllabi were all completed before the final DIT exams.
- RMF hosted a delegation from JICA, which came for a follow-up visit after the donation of startup kits and training materials to Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI).
- Instructors and trainees participated in a Christmas refugee market trade exhibition that was organized by UNHCR at Kitante Hill Secondary School in Kampala.
- Training materials for the semester were purchased in the required quantities and in the required timeline. Scholastic materials such as books and pens were also distributed.
- 9,756 schoolchildren were supported for the fourth term of 2017.
- RMF has continued to implement our sports development program, which is promoting psychological well-being, life skills, and cooperation among the youth. The program has helped diffuse some of the tension existing between different tribes from South Sudan.
- RMF purchased training items, including balls, cones, sports bibs, uniforms, and cleats, among others. This has led to easy identification during trainings and competitions. It has also motivated other potential participants to join the teams, while building existing participants’ confidence.
- 10 players, including both boys and girls, have been offered scholarships by Alliance Integrated Secondary School for their secondary education, while 1 student is on scholarship at Kigumba Intensive Secondary School.
- RMF has continued to deliver health services according to the tripartite agreement between the UNHCR, OPM, and RMF. Thus, RMF continues to perform our duties as the UNCHR Health Implementing Partner in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
School Support
9,756 Students Supported
Currently, a total of 9,756 students are supported by RMF/WCF funding in nursery, primary, and secondary schools, including South Sudanese, Kenyan, Rwandan, Burundian, Ugandan IDP, and Congolese children/students. School fees for all RMF-sponsored students were paid at the beginning of the reporting period:
- Beth Cole Nursery School: 1,128 children supported
- Arnold Nursery School: 975 children supported
- Can Rom Primary School: 3,589 pupils supported
- Arnold Primary School: 2,888 pupils supported
- Panyadoli Self Help Secondary School: 1,176 students supported
Medicine Delivery and Human Resources Support
Medicine and Supplies Provided
During the reporting period, RMF/WCF provided medicine, as well as medical, laboratory, and cleaning supplies for the health centers in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. This was supplemented by medical supplies from Kiryandongo District’s local government and the UNHCR. RMF/WCF’s medical support benefits both refugees and nationals who come for treatment at Panyadoli Health Centre III, Panyadoli Hills Health Centre II, the Reception Centre Clinic, and Nyakadot Health Centre II.
Salaries, wages, and top-up allowances for medical and support staff in the health program were paid in a timely manner. RMF also deployed data clerks to all health facilities in the settlement.
Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI)
101 Students Graduate
We continue to provide financial support and guidance for the four departments at RMF’s Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI). Of 115 trainees originally accepted for this intake, 102 students completed their training, and 101 took the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) examinations in November and early December, earning certificates and successfully graduating from Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI).
Kiryandongo Sports Development Program
4 Dialogue Sessions Conducted
The program conducted 4 dialogue sessions with players in schools and during school holidays. During dialogue sessions, the members are sensitized about the dangers of conflict, substance abuse, and sexual promiscuity, among others. Unity among team members is encouraged through the dialogue sessions, as well as collaborating in respect and love with parents/caregivers. Participants are gradually realizing the importance of living in harmony in the community.
Precious Children’s Centre
Financial Support Provided
RMF continued to provide financial support to the Precious Children’s Centre in Kawempe, Kampala, which takes care of orphans and vulnerable children. The funding from RMF is used to purchase of food for the children. This has helped to keep more children in class and to stabilize the center’s operations.
Support for a Young Heart Patient
Patricia Biira Update
Patricia Biira is a three-year-old girl who was born with holes in her heart. Thanks to RMF’s support, she underwent a successful heart surgery at the Uganda Heart Institute on August 16, 2017 and received emergency treatment a week later, when a new attack almost claimed her life. Patricia is now at home with her parents, and according to the medical review that was done in September, she is recovering steadily. Patricia will have her next medical review in January 2018. All of this was made possible because of the funding from RMF/WCF.
Background
& Objectives
Background
The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Bweyale, Uganda, is a UNHCR managed refugee settlement that provides shelter, land, and support for more than 100,000 people. They are comprised of refugees from Kenya, DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. RMF has partnered with UNHCR in supporting Kiryandango Refugee Settlement, the surrounding community of Bweyale, and the greater Kiryandongo District (an additional 266,197 people) with health care, education, and vocational training since 2008.
Objectives
- To serve as a health care implementation partner with the UNHCR and Ugandan Government
- To provide health care services to over 100,000 refugees and persons in the community via the Panyadoli Health Centres
- To provide skills training for South Sudanese refugees to enable them to become self-reliant
More
Photos
Click to enlarge
Numbers
Served
Based on numbers provided by the UNHCR and OPM (Office of the Prime Minister), the current core population of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement is over 100,000, with at least 60,000 South Sudanese refugees and the remainder composed of Kenyan, Rwandan, Burundian, and Congolese refugees, as well as Ugandan IDPs. As of March 2016, 80% were at-risk women and children.
In addition to the refugee community, services provided by RMF benefit Kiryandongo District’s host population of over 266,197, including Bweyale and the surrounding areas. All patients receive treatment without discrimination.
Success
Stories
David Nyon
Age 16
David Nyon, a 16-year-old boy of the Lopit tribe, is a South Sudanese refugee born and raised in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement (thus, he is also Ugandan). Before the Kiryandongo Sports Development Program began, David stayed at home after his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) because his parents could not afford school fees for his secondary education. He was a demoralized teenager who did not know if he would ever go back to school.
When the project was implemented, David first hesitated to join because he did not know its benefits. Later, he reluctantly joined to pass time and add variety to his days. He was encouraged by the way the coaches mobilized and conducted the trainings and realized that there were many benefits to the program, including promoting peace, physical exercise/good health, and exposure to different opportunities.
Having attained adequate training, David has become a soccer star in Kiryandongo District and has been awarded a full year’s secondary school scholarship by Alliance Integrated Secondary School for 2018. He is overwhelmed with excitement because his long-lost dream has come true and he has been enrolled for further education. He is grateful to the Kiryandongo Sports Development Program for the skills and exposure that have earned him this achievement.
Charity Aya
Age 28
Charity Aya is a 28-year-old young woman who was raised in South Sudan but came to Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement because of the 2013 conflict in South Sudan. She is Kakwa by tribe and currently works as an assistant coach with the Kiryandongo Sports Development Program. Before the program, Charity experienced many hardships because she was new to the settlement, didn’t have a livelihood, and her family was stuck in South Sudan.
As luck would have it, the sports development program began searching for coaches and assistant coaches, an opportunity that Charity jumped at. From the money that she earns, she has managed to retrieve her graduation papers from her university in South Sudan and bring her family to the settlement.
To Charity, the Kiryandongo Sports Development Program is a godsend, and she cannot hide her appreciation towards PeacePlayers International and Real Medicine Foundation for the opportunity and empowering initiative.
Mourning the Loss
Grief & Tragedy
Caroline Tukugize
RMF Program Manager
The program faced a shock due the death of Caroline Tukugize, the well-loved RMF program manager for Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. She died shortly after undergoing a successful C-section to deliver twins at Paragon Hospital in Kampala.
More Reports on: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project Archive
Country Page: Uganda
Initiative Page: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
