LWF reactivates emergency response in Rwamwanja refugee settlement

LWF staff and other partners address some of the new arrivals at the reception center in Rwamwanja settlement

 

A total of 7,537 refugees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo arrived at the Ugandan border point of Bubukangwa in South Western Uganda's Bundibugyo district between February and March this year.

The UN refugee agency has resettled the said refugees in Rwamwanja settlement, also located in southwestern Uganda.

Mostly women and children, the visibly hungry and tired refugees carried some of their belongings on the back for hundreds of kilometers as they escaped deadly attacks imposed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel groups in their home country.

To address their needs, LWF is drilling a total of five boreholes in locations where they have settled because the current water supply there cannot meet their demands LWF will also provide Multi-Purpose Cash Grant assistance to the most vulnerable households identified among the new arrivals between February and March 2022.Thanks to the donors who have provided funds to make the emergency response possible.

To enhance sanitation and hygiene, the constructions of 50 pit latrines for the vulnerable groups who cannot build by themselves are also ongoing amid the distribution of agricultural input like seeds of faster- growing crops like beans and vegetables to supplement the food relief. Owing to the torture and loss of their loved ones back home, LWF has identified and strengthened the capacity of community-based facilitators to provide psychosocial support for the distressed people of concern.

About Rwamwanja Settlement

Rwamwanja settlement was established in 1964 to host refugees from Rwanda and closed in 1995 when many were repatriated. It reopened in 2012 to host refugees fleeing insecurity in DRC due to violence in North and South Kivu.

Rwamwanja currently hosts 72,663 refugees and asylum seekers, 37,888 (52%) being females. This population is 5% of the 1,425,040 refugee and asylum seekers population in Uganda as of June 2020.

 

                                                                                                         -END-