The Government of Uganda through the Office of the Prime Minister’s Refugee management department has commended Malteser International (MI) in Partnership with Care and assistance for forced Migrants (CAFOMI) for donating relief items worth more than 90 million shillings to assist in handling emergency response activities at the Nyakabande refugee transit center in Kisoro district.
The CAFOMI communication and administration assistant, Vivian Anita commended the German federal foreign office for funding this activity.
More than 8000 Congolese who fled war in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo are currently receiving assistance at the transit camp as Government plans to relocate those interested to settlement camps.
Malteser International representative for South Western Uganda Amon Ariho says the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is still fluid and refugee aid partners in Kisoro need all the support they can get to effectively manage the influx of Congolese into the country.
Several items were handed over including, 60 pairs of gum boots, 2000 jerry cans of 20-liter capacity, 200 liters of Liquid soap, 150 bottles of hand sanitizers, 120 boxes of generic face masks, 50 packets of disposable gloves, 40 pieces of trash bins of 240 liters each, 20 cartons of washing soap(White star), 100 liters of Jink, 1000 polythene material bags among others.
On behalf of Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Irene Polyne Abina, who is also the Settlement Commandant for Kyangwali Refugee Settlement thanked the implementing partners for their support towards managing the refugee situation in Nyakabande holding center.
According to Abina, such close working relations in Kisoro and other disaster-prone areas like Kasese have helped affected communities regain a normal semblance of life with dignity.
United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) representative at Nyakabande Transit Center Jimmy Ogwang further appreciated the timely support, adding that such efforts help fill in the gaps where Government and other partners are unable.
Ogwang noted that access to fresh water and shelter for the growing numbers is still a major challenge.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, alongside the Government of Uganda and humanitarian partners, is assisting some 10,000 refugees in the country’s southwest Kisoro district after they fled violent clashes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which began on 28 March 2022.
Thousands of children, women, and men arrived from Rutchuru territory in the DRC, some 8 kilometres from the Bunagana border crossing in Uganda’s Kisoro district.
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