By CAFOMI Communications
A sense of relative peace and calm has returned to the communities of Nyakabande Sub County in Kisoro district after several months of tension and conflict between the refugees and the communities.
The Nyakabande Transit Centre, which is approximately 10 kilometers from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) serves as the initial reception hub for refugees, who are given temporary shelter and food.
The asylum seekers are then given an option of choosing to be transferred as refugees, to any one of the Refugee settlement camps further inland or return back to their home country.
The year 2022 was a challenging year for both asylum seekers and the host communities of Nyakabande, Bunagana and Nyarubuye Sub counties.
The Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda expected (end of 2022) that there would be another 80-100,000 people crossing the border from the DR Congo into Uganda.
True to that fact, conflict between host communities and the refugees escalated with many complaining of food insecurity and inability to develop themselves because of pressure from the refugees.
With funding from Dan Church Aid, CAFOMI (Care and Assistance for Forced Migrants) organized a community dialogue involving 60 Congolese asylum seekers and 60 community members in a bid to promote peaceful co-existence between the two groups.
Ensuring a safe space for the community members to express their concerns, the community members and the refugees openly shared their challenges and fears and hopes.
The community members said most people in Kisoro are farmers are affected negatively by the sudden increase in new community members.
Crops get stolen, trees are cut down for firewood or to make shelters.
The refugees said they need to be close to home because they left behind their elderly parents and relatives behind.
They say it hurts them to put pressure on Kisoro communities, but they are stuck with difficult choices.
The dialogue presented an opportunity for both groups to experience a fundamental paradigm shift in their thinking and acting.
All participants each walked away with a bar of washing soap.
Since the last dialogue, the refugees have shown willingness to be relocated to settlement camps reducing pressure on the communities.
With funding from Dan Church Aid, CAFOMI in Kisoro supported communities by providing cash grants, farming tools and seeds to 300 households in the district including eucalyptus tree seedlings.
The host communities have been supported with projects that included the distribution of seed for tomatoes, onions, beans and cabbage.
CAFOMI has since continued to support refugee hosting communities in Kisoro with the aim of promoting peaceful co-existence between refugees and host community members.
For more information on Dan Church Aid, Click the link below.
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