It has been called a ‘refugee paradise’ and ‘the most refugee-friendly country in the world’. Those who aren’t quite so evangelical simply laud Uganda for its progressive refugee policy. And with good reason. Last year, Uganda took in more refugees than any other country in the world, and at present, more than 1.35 million refugees have settled in Uganda, primarily from South Sudan. The vast majority of refugees in Uganda live in settlements such as Bidi Bidi – the world’s largest refugee camp – where they are given plots of land, food, basic goods, access to public services and freedom of movement. However, the chronic underfunding of refugee services means that opportunities are limited in Uganda’s 28 refugee settlements. As a result, some new arrivals feel compelled to follow in the footsteps of those who came to Uganda during earlier waves of migration, and try their luck in cities like Kampala. There, refugees are largely left to fend for themselves and yet most manage to make a life for themselves, some successfully. Earlier this year, Ugandan photographer Nicholas Bamulanzeki teamed up with journalist Evelyn Lirri to capture the stories of some of the people who are trying to rebuild their lives in Kampala. You can read the full article here.
Rose Diko, 43 años, es una refugiada de Sudán del Sur. Se gana la vida cocinando y vendiendo pan y galletas en los suburbios de Kampala, ganando un ingreso medio de 3,30 USD diarios.
Rose Diko has been living in Uganda since 2013 – and not for the first time. She previously lived in a refugee camp in Uganda as the 2005 peace deal took shape following decades of brutal conflict in what was then a united Sudan. Diko describes living in a refugee camp as a “daily struggle”. Currently, the vast majority of the one million people from South Sudan who have sought refuge in Uganda live in settlements in the north of the country. Conditions there can be very difficult, mainly due to the chronic lack of funding for the work being carried out by the Ugandan government and international aid agencies.
Rose Diko controla la cocción del pan en un horno comunitario en Kampala.
For the last four years, Diko has been baking and hawking her bread and biscuits on the streets of Kampala. She does not make a lot of money, but she says it is better than living in a refugee camp, or going back to her country where a brutal civil war has raging since 2013. “For every set of cookies I make, I can earn a profit of 12,000 shillings (approximately US$3.35). This is not a lot of money but we have nothing else to do,” she tells Equal Times. With more financial support, Diko says she would like to expand her business in order to better support her eight children.
Irene Birungi, esposa y madre de ocho hijos originarios de la República Democrática del Congo, pesa frijoles en su tienda de comestibles familiar en Kampala.
Irene runs a grocery store with her husband Ugen-Chan. The fact that refugees in Uganda are allowed to set up businesses, work for others, access social services, move freely around the country and are even given land has won the country plaudits for having the ‘most generous refugee policy in the world’. But it still isn’t easy. Most refugees lack the capital to start a business. It took Irene and her husband a year and a half to save the money to buy a grocery store.
De izquierda a derecha: Irene Birungi, su esposo Ugen-Chan Bichendi y dos de sus ocho hijos, Shadrack y Racheal.
The Bichendis, who are originally from DRC, all chip in to help with the running of their grocery store in Kampala. “I am happy here,” says dad Ugen-Chan. “Life was difficult when we came but now it is getting better. My children have even learnt the local language. We have no plans of going back to Congo.”
Alice Nyota, de la RDC, llegó a Uganda en 2006 con las manos vacías, con siete hijos y (su hoy ex) esposo.
Today, Alice sells kitenge (traditional African fabric) in a shop in a Kampala mall as well as owning two workshops located in the city centre. She is one of Uganda’s refugee success stories.
Uno de los talleres de Alice Nyota funciona también como centro de capacitación. Emplea en total a 30 personas, tanto refugiados como ugandeses.
“I do not take this opportunity we have been given by the government of Uganda for granted,” says Alice Nyota. “That is why I have been giving back by teaching young Ugandans the skills I have acquired over the years,” she says.
Vendedor ambulante ofrece fruta en una concurrida calle de Kampala, Uganda.
Hawking is one of the main economic activities for new arrivals in Uganda who want to make a living. Such work doesn’t require much start-up capital and authorities tend to turn a blind eye to such activities, even though it is illegal. One average, these informal traders make about US$5 a day but walking in and out of moving traffic is tiring and can be very dangerous.
Comerciante informal vendiendo postizos y accesorios para el pelo en el centro de Kampala.
According to UNHCR figures, women and children constitute 86 percent of the refugee population in Uganda. However, they are frequently excluded from advocacy positions within refugee-run organisations and face gender discrimination as well as gender-based violence. Economic opportunities are also limited for women refugees. However, the roadside vending of women’s products such as hair and cosmetics is one area of economic activity open to refugee women.
