Safeguarding Children's wellbeing within Refugee settlements: ChildFund Uganda's approach

Uganda is a host to over 1.5 million refugees from South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and other countries. In 2023 alone, nearly 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers sought refuge in Uganda, contributing to a total of 245,811 arrivals since 2022, according to statistics from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

However this ongoing influx, coupled with a natural population growth rate of 3percent per annum, puts a huge strain on the country's already stretched health Water and Sanitation and Hygiene and Education infrastructure in host districts.

We are also cognizant of the fact that under such crises, children and women are the most affected.

It is against this background that ChildFund Uganda, in partnership with ChildFund Korea and with funding from KOICA, executed a project dubbed “Building Resilience and Protection Systems for the Well-being of Children” (BREPs) project within the Parolinya Refugee Settlement, located in the Obongi District of the West Nile sub-region.

The project concentrated on addressing critical child protection issues and minimizing risks faced by children in both the refugee settlement and the host community.

Its primary focus was on strengthening effective community-based child protection mechanisms to prevent and respond to various child protection risks. Notable achievements include the training and empowerment of 221 community members involved in Community-Based Child Protection. The training emphasized case identification, reporting, referral processes, risk identification, mitigation strategies, and the prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). This initiative successfully reached 11,589 community members, delivering impactful messages related to child protection, prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), and response strategies.

The BREPs project also significantly improved the living conditions of 150 vulnerable children in Zone 3 East and West by providing essential items such as mattresses, bedsheets, and soap.

The identification of these vulnerable children was a collaborative effort involving volunteers from Child-Friendly Spaces and Community Based Child Protection Structures.

Acknowledging the crucial role of Child-Friendly Spaces, the project conducted training sessions for 30 CFS facilitators and 3 Chairpersons of the Centre Management Committees.

Operating within Zone 3 of the Palorinya Refugee Settlement, these individuals focused on creating CFS environments prioritizing child protection, engagement in play, socialization, learning, and self-expression, positively impacting the psychological well-being of the participating children. Each day, these CFSs accommodate between 563 to 788 children actively engaging in group-based CFS activities under the supervision of trained facilitators.

Additionally, 6 parenting sessions were organized across all three CFSs, with a total of 512 participants. These sessions aimed to empower caregivers with the knowledge and skills necessary for the holistic well-being of the children under their care. Through these collective efforts, the project made significant strides in establishing a safer and more resilient environment for the well-being of children in the Parolinya Refugee Settlement and the surrounding community.