Amid uncertainty, IDPs in Syria dream of becoming engineers, teachers or car dealers
Syria has 6.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs), many of them children displaced by conflicts, violence and natural disasters. We work with the EU’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) to make sure that schools can be an anchor in children’s lives, even in the midst of crises.
“We’ve had to move many times. I hate the feeling of living in chaos and uncertainty,” says Syrian Rida Issa.
Syria is home to a generation of children who have lived all or at least a big part of their lives as refugees or displaced in their home country. Rida belongs to that generation. During the armed conflict, his family kept rebuilding their home in East Ghouta, over and over again.
When the fighting ceased, the family returned to their old neighbourhood. But their home was in ruins, and now Rida lives with his grandparents.
Rida Issa goes to school in Eastern Ghouta. He has lived part of his childhood in internal displacement. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
Some 6.6 million Syrians who fled the war live as refugees in neighbouring countries like Jordan or Turkey, and some even further away on the Greek islands or central Europe. An equal amount – 6.7 million in a country of 17.5 million people – continue, like Rida’s family, to live in internal displacement within Syria.
For the time being, the fighting in Syria has abated. Nevertheless, in 2020 the country reported having more than 1.8 million new internally displaced persons, almost all of them fleeing conflict and violence.
At the end of 2020, there were a record 55 million internally displaced people in the world. More than 26 million people have fled their home country and been given UN refugee status (2019).
In 2020, 40.5 million people had to flee within their home countries. This is the highest annual figure in a decade.
About 85 per cent of internally displaced people have fled their homes due to conflict or violence. The rest have fled natural disasters, most of which were weather-related (floods, heavy rains, cyclones).
The report authors say that it is particularly worrying that these figures were recorded despite the Covid-19 pandemic, when movement restrictions obstructed data collection and fear of infection discouraged people from seeking emergency shelter.
Sources: Global Report on Internal Replacement 2021 by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and a Relief Web news article on the report. UNHCR.
Internally displaced children face many risks. Their chances of attending school and receiving healthcare and protection are compromised. Not only are children torn away from their familiar environment and communities, but they may also be separated from their families and put at an increased risk of child labour and child marriage.
Living a conflict-torn life as a displaced person affects each child in different ways. Below, Syrian children in Finn Church Aid-supported schools tell in their own words how they feel about it.
Remal & Enas: Saddened by memories of guns and an absent father
Year 4 pupil Remal Tahina goes to school in the Daraa area. Remal finds learning difficult but hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps as a car dealer.
Remal Tahina has difficulties at school. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
“During the war, we had to leave our home village for somewhere else. I still remember the grenades, missiles, tanks and rifles. There were always guns nearby.
Once a mortar shell dropped close to our home. My grandfather could’ve been injured, but luckily he was in the mosque.
My family includes my father, mother and two sisters. My father is working in the United Arab Emirates because he couldn’t find work in Syria. My uncle offered him a job at the car dealership and he accepted so he could support us. I miss him all the time. He only visits us during the summer and brings presents. Once I got a bike.
At school, I have difficulty reading and writing. My friends start fights with me and then say they’re only joking. That bothers me.”
Our work in Syria focuses on rebuilding the war-torn education sector.
This includes repairing school buildings, providing necessary supplies and offering remedial classes for students who have been or are at risk of dropping out of school.
In 2020, a total of 9,345 students were able to continue their learning in refurbished school buildings. A total of 4,749 learners participated in our learning support activities. 3,000 students received a school uniform and school supplies. We offered training to 108 teachers on psychosocial support and teaching in disaster conditions.
Enas Alasimy, 12, also talks about how the war has affected her. During the war, the Alasimy family spent seven years as refugees in Jordan.
“I don’t remember much about the war because I was really young. I’ve heard people talk about gunfire, shootings and firearms.
I’m having trouble at school. I’m too scared to raise my hand and participate because I’m afraid the teacher will hit me if my answer is wrong.
When I grow up, I’d like to become a teacher to help shy students like me not to be afraid.”
Enas Alasimy spent seven years as a refugee in Jordan. Now she is 12 years old and says she doesn’t remeber much about the war. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
Muhammad: Long days at the construction site
Muhammad Abdo Hijzai, 13, from East Ghouta goes to Finn Church Aid-supported remedial classes in maths and other subjects. With nine family members, money is tight in the Hijzai family and Muhammad has to go to work.
Muhammad Abdo Hijzai has to help his father at work. When the sun goes down, he opens his school books again. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
“When school ends at one in the afternoon, I go to help my father. He is a construction worker; we plaster walls together and prep them for painting. My dad can’t do all the work alone, so that’s why I help him.
After about six hours of hard work, we stop when the sun goes down. When I get home, I open my school books. I do it to achieve my dreams and make them come true. I can’t spare much time for homework, but I do my best: I study one to three hours a day.
On weekends I play with my friends because we don’t work on Fridays. I wish I could be with them more often, but I can’t leave my father to cope with all the work on his own. All of my older siblings are girls, so they can’t get involved in this type of work.”
Aya: Half a life in war
Aya Darwish, 14, who lives in East Ghouta, noticed how difficult it was to resume studies after years of war.
Aya Darwish, 14, lives in Eastern Ghouta. She dreams of opening an own art gallery in the future. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
“I’ve always drawn. I draw when I’m sad. I draw when I’m angry. Ironically, I think my drawings are at their best when I’m at my worst.
I have clear memories of this long war we have had to go through. Things were really hard, and I don’t even have to go into details. By the age of 14, I have spent seven years in war. For half of my life, I have seen the worst things happen in life. That’s why I am grateful for every good thing that happens to me.
In those seven years, I almost forgot what it was like to go to school. After that time, it was difficult to start studying English again because I hadn’t used or heard the language for a long time. Remedial classes have helped me a great deal.
I don’t think painting will ever be more than a hobby, but I still dream of opening my own art galleries. That would give me an opportunity to exhibit my paintings and share my view of the world.”
Dreams stay alive, despite difficult conditions
For children living in conflict areas and as displaced, schools are crucial because they help build a sustainable future and give children the skills to earn a living.
Omar Al Zuhaili, 14, has lived in internal displacement during the war. He wants to achieve his dreams, whatever the circumstances. Photo: Abu Talib Al-Buhaya.
When he was small, Omar Al Zuhaili, 14, had to flee his home village. But he has been able to return and now attends a refurbished local school.
“I want to become an architect because I like drawing and designing buildings. I want to achieve my dream, whatever the circumstances. I encourage my friends to complete their studies,” says Omar.
Education is also a powerful tool to eradicate child labour. Rida Issa, who is 14, knows he’s lucky because he doesn’t have to go to the construction site to help his father. Rida stresses that there is nothing embarrassing about working, but says he hopes that his classmates who have to work will be able to complete their schoolwork.
“I want to become an electrical engineer because I love inventions. I once designed a small spider from scrap metal. It had a small engine which made the spider vibrate and move,” says Rida.
Text: Ulriikka Myöhänen, Middle East Communications Specialist
Teacher trainings progress refugee learners’ performance in Uganda
Teachers in schools that host refugees often walk into the toughest classrooms. A single classroom often contains many learners from different backgrounds. These have in one way or another been affected by violence in their home countries, seen their homes destroyed and their relatives injured or killed.
Susan Angwao, a teacher at Daedun Palorinya secondary school in Palorinya refugee settlement in Moyo district, says her first weeks as a new teacher at the school were quite challenging.
“Some of the students were stubborn, loud and hyperactive. Others had short tempers and made the classroom chaotic. It was quite hard to get them to pay attention in class. Now I am able to handle them appropriately,” Angwao says.
Angwao received a Teacher’s in Crisis Context (TiCC) training for newly recruited teachers. Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) training equips teachers with knowledge and skills on teacher management, professional development, and recognition of the relationship between teacher well-being and students’ social and emotional development.
Japeth Joel Jomaring, Head Teacher at Idiwa Secondary School says better teaching skills have led to the improved performance of the school. Photo: Linda Kabuzire
Providing psychosocial support for teachers and learners
Refugee children are vulnerable to the effects of traumatic events arising from conflict and displacement.
“Traumatised students usually isolate themselves in class, stay very quiet, and don’t follow instructions. Our teachers have received mental health and psychosocial support training and can identify children who are suffering psychologically and give them guidance and counselling accordingly. This has helped them improve on their concentration in class and get better grades,” says Zainabu Atim, the Head Teacher of Ariwa Secondary school in Bidibidi refugee settlement.
Atim noted that some of the teachers are also refugees who have experienced trauma and need psychosocial support in order to be able to help the children.
Zainabu Atim, the Head Teacher of Ariwa Secondary school. Photo: Linda Kabuzire
FCA has trained over 120 teachers in Mental Health & Psychosocial Support and also participated in the Retooling of Teacher & Learning Circle peer mentors, reaching out to over 24 teachers.
The learning circles consider the organisation of course documents for teachers, e.g. Syllabus and Topics, creating opportunities for problem-solving, interconnected learning tasks, constant feedback, and ongoing change in course delivery.
Japeth Joel Jomaring, the Head Teacher at Idiwa Secondary School in Palorinya refugee settlement, says he has seen a significant improvement in the learners’ performance.
“The teachers have been equipped with better teaching skills and methods. In just three years, the performance of Idiwa SS has improved, and we are among the best performing schools in the region,” Jomaring says.
“Teachers require continuous training and capacity building opportunities to help them develop, get new skills and find solutions to problems they encounter in the classroom,“ he adds.
Teacher trainings are carried out with funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Innovative Approaches Bring Refugee Children Back to School in Uganda
Finn Church Aid, with funding by EU Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), implements a condensed curriculum that allows refugee children who have not been able to attend school for long periods to catch up with their lost school years in Ugandan refugee settlements. Education helps to protect girls from early marriages.
Joyce Bisimwa, 17, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, came to Uganda with her parents and siblings in 2016. The hardship and lack of money for school fees forced her to drop out of school when she was on grade six in primary school and she spent years without education.
In 2019, of the 47,470 refugee children in Kyaka II refugee settlement only one in four were enrolled in primary school. Joyce was relieved when she could enrol in the Accelerated Education Program (AEP) in Bukere Primary School to catch up on her lost years.
Joyce, her father Bisimwa Dieudonne and her brother Charme outside their home in Kyaka II settlement.
“I was very happy when I was allowed to return. The teachers here are so nice, and I feel happy when I see myself sitting in a class like this,” Joyce says.
To speed up the learning of youth like Joyce, the programme uses a specially designed and condensed version of the Ugandan curriculum. By covering two to three grades of primary education in one year and using teaching methods appropriate for different age groups, learners who have lost many school years can transition into the formal schooling system.
“We cannot leave girls behind, and I see a good future in Joyce. I know she will be a good influence on her other siblings,” says Joyce’s father Bisimwa Dieudonne.
Education for refugee girls a priority
The AEP programme is an integral part of the INCLUDE (Innovative and Inclusive Accelerated Education) project. Finn Church Aid (FCA) implements the programme in Kyaka, Bidibidi and Omugo refugee settlements in Uganda as part of an education consortium led by Save the Children and funded by EU Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).
One of the priorities is to support girls’ education. Under the project, 3,318 female learners in the three settlements have returned to school through the AEP. In Kyaka, additional 2,696 were able to return through Education in Emergencies cash support.
FCA trains teachers to ensure that learners receive inclusive, quality education. Felix Tumwesigye, an AEP teacher at Bukere Primary School, underwent various trainings from curriculum interpretation and teacher learning circles to child protection. Tumwesigye has seen many girls struggle to access menstrual hygiene materials, and girls also face concerns like teenage pregnancies and marriages. Girls have fewer role models in school, especially among teachers, and some parents prefer to support the education of the sons rather than the daughters, he says.
Felix Tumwesigye thinks education is particularly important for girls.
The project provides menstrual hygiene materials to all girls to prevent them from missing classes, and learners also receive scholastic materials. They can attend classes without fear of being sent away due to unpaid school costs or the lack of uniforms.
“Education is especially important for girls; it gives them a future and prevents them from being forced into early marriage,” says Tumwesigye.
Learning made fun and engaging
The project aims to make learning fun, engaging and more effective for learners in lower AEP levels and primary through innovative technology-based solutions for quality education. The component called Can’t Wait to Learn give learners access to tablets loaded with interactive games that help teach literacy and numeracy using the Ugandan lower primary curriculum.
Tablets provided by War Child Holland make learning effective and engaging.
A series of recreational activities under the name of Team Up has been designed to reduce the stress that refugee children experience as a result of war. Many of these children create new social contacts or friends through such activities and strengthen their social and emotional well-being. School attendance has also been boosted through the Team Up activities.
The closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic created sadness in many of the girls at Bukere Primary School. Lillian Kemigisa, 14, thought that she would not return and was relieved when the schools reopened.
“I feel safe like I have never felt before. I feel so happy because of the good teachers and the quality of education I receive here”, she says.
During distance learning, FCA together with other partners provided over 8,000 learners in Kyaka with home learning materials and distributed over 1,400 radios in the community.
“Studying from home helped me so much, but I felt happier when school resumed so that I could be with my friends again”, says Abigael, another girl from Bukere Primary School.
Bukere emerged as the best school in Uganda in 2019 in using tablets for learning and was rewarded with computers for the teachers. In a bid to support the increased number of children enrolling in school, more teachers have been recruited, trained and given instructional and learning materials. Fully furnished classrooms have also been set up, teacher’s accommodation built and gender-segregated latrines provided for learners and teachers.
Education is important to Florence, 16, because it will create employment opportunities for her in the future. “If I become a doctor, I can advise people in the villages on how to live healthy lives.”
Through the project’s innovative approaches and other education initiatives in Kyaka, primary school enrollment increased from 12,161 learners in 2019 to 23,075 in 2020.
“I feel very happy that these girls are back to school. They had lost all hope of education before we had this programme,” Tumwesigye says.
BackgroundSupporting education in Uganda’s refugee settlements
The INCLUDE project is implemented by a consortium of Save the Children, Finn Church Aid, War Child Holland and Norwegian Refugee Council, funded by EU Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).
Since 2018, 3,410 children and youth in Kyaka and 2,418 children in Omugo and Bidibidi refugee settlements have been able to enrol back to school through the AEP programme.
With Education in Emergencies (EiE) cash for vulnerable school-aged children, a total of 5,871 children have been supported in Kyaka II, out of which 4,902 enrolled in primary school.
Several smallholder farmers grow maize in Rwamwanja refugee settlement in Uganda. The product has growing markets in nearby areas. Still, due to low productivity and an absence of associative organizations or other platforms for sharing knowledge and empowering local farmers, the markets are not profitable.
Several opportunities to increase income, food security and self-reliance exist, yet the lack of skills in organizing the maize production and making it sustainable remains a challenge. Currently, local buyers – the so-called middlemen – buy the maize at low prices from the smallholder farmers. They add to its value by, for instance, drying or sorting and then sell the maize in towns for much higher prices. Some buyers are processors that grind the maize into flour and other bi-products, such as animal feeds.
Supported by our Food System Lab, the maize farmers will be organized into a strong association that can directly access the maize market without middlemen’s influence.
The Food System Lab Rwamwanja, coordinated by Finn Church Aid, addresses these challenges that refugees and Ugandan women are facing in the settlement by supporting self-sufficiency and community-based extension. Our Food System Lab empowers women smallholders and trains them in improving their maize production in terms of productivity, quality and sustainability, ultimately boosting their access to the maize market.
Supported by our Food System Lab, the maize farmers will be organized into a strong association that can directly access the maize market without middlemen’s influence. This will improve maize prices and smallholder farmers’ income and enhance their socioeconomic wellbeing and societal status.
In the refugee context, the income growth increases household consumption of other food products that complement the World Food Programme’s support of maize meal and beans. To put it simply: refugees earn more money and diversify their diets by affording more nutritious food.
Aiming to change the market system
The vision in our Food System Lab is threefold. Firstly, as the result of improved local extension structure, soil fertility is enhanced, and good maize farming practices are adopted. This, in turn, leads to improved maize yields.
Secondly, value addition through milling and packaging attracts premium price for the product.
Thirdly, by organising themselves better, the smallholder maize farmers can increase their negotiation capacities and thus tap into emerging market opportunities directly, without middlemen’s influence. Our Food System Lab will bring together relevant actors to identify best practices and learnings relating to setting up new livelihood activities in the refugee settlement and developing functioning and equal value chains and market linkages.
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The government’s public extension system supports the activities by providing agro-technical knowledge to the farmers to improve maize productivity. The Food System Lab will also establish a Community-based Extension system using Village Enterprise Agents, maize farmers themselves.
Producers will be organized into collectives to sell in bulk and to negotiate prices. Input suppliers provide maize farms with seeds, fertilizers and other necessities related to production, while advisory agencies and NGOs train producers on production techniques. Smallholders can receive financing from micro-finance agencies.
Our Food System Lab will change the market system, making the market increasingly beneficial for low-income maize producers over the upcoming years. By changing the behaviour of market actors, the market works more efficiently and inclusively, responding to the needs of poor households and communities.
Village Enterprise Agents and smartphones improving the knowledge base and communication
One of the key approaches towards achieving increased productivity, sustainable practices and market access is to provide the farmers with the requisite training and on-farm extension support through a community-based extension structure, using a network of Village Enterprise Agents.
To disseminate agro-technical knowledge, the Village Enterprise Agents will be equipped with mobile phones pre-loaded with relevant agricultural content. Our Food System Lab develops an online dashboard to provide timely visibility of field activities, thus enabling timely information sharing, monitoring and learning. Stakeholders at any location will access the online dashboard through a username and password.
Introduction of smartphones in agricultural extension services in hard-to-reach rural areas in Uganda can enable communication with farmers, extension agents and managers in ways that were impossible before.
Photo: Sharon Shaba.
The adoption of smartphones in agriculture extension has occurred even more rapidly in developed countries than in Uganda. However, its adoption merits particular importance and attention because extension services in Uganda have been characterized by too-few field agents and a lack of communication support infrastructure and budget.
However, the smallholders – the majority of farmers in Uganda – are unlikely to have high levels of education (or could actually be illiterate) and generally with little experience operating mobile phones and related Apps.
These challenges can lead to underuse or abandonment of the technology if proper support is not provided. For this reason, Food System Lab Rwamwanja will combine these approaches in a structured system that trains local Village Enterprise Agents to become ‘professionals’, acting as liaisons to provide assistance and seek information on behalf of other farmers in their community.
This way of using technology combines the best of both approaches; the self-guided nature allows the user to tailor information to each farmer’s specific needs and situation. The organization and training of the Village Enterprise Agents mean that the knowledge they will provide can include up-to-date information to introduce smallholder farmers to new ideas.
Author: Elias Katareiha, Livelihood Program Officer, Finn Church Aid
War-torn Syria has descended into a financial crisis that worsens the country’s humanitarian situation. Children living through the war need moments in which they can just be children.
“How can I ever repay my country? I have been told that it is too tough for someone my age to ask, but I am growing up in this country. I eat the food that my father, a farmer, has planted in this soil. That teaches me what is happening here. I want to do something for my country when I can.”
These are the words of a Syrian eight-grader from Eastern Ghouta, Ghadeer Al Aghawa, who we interviewed in January.
I was horrified when I read the interview. Does a child really have to be burdened by such thoughts? Her reflections underscore the grim reality: a disaster marks an end to childhood.
Syria has been through a tumultuous decade since the war started in 2011. The intricate conflict involves the government, opposition groups, other countries supporting the various parties, and extremist groups, and the turmoil has a staggering impact on the emerging generation.
The country hosts millions of students who have gone to school in exceptional circumstances.
At least five million children have been born in Syria during the war. An additional million were born as refugees in Syria’s neighbouring countries. According to UNICEF data, thousands of children have been injured, and every ten hours, a Syrian child dies because of the war.
There are no signs of relief as Syria enters another decade in challenging circumstances.
The country faces an unprecedented economic collapse, worse than anything witnessed during the war thus far, writes The New York Times. The currency is weak, salaries have decreased, and the prices of necessities have soared. Syrians suffer from a chronic lack of petrol, which they need for cooking and heating the buildings where many families live.
Marwa Omar Safaya teaches computer science at an FCA supported school in Eastern Ghouta and observes first-hand how the country’s situation affects the children.
“During severely cold winter days, I notice how the children’s hands turn blue. Nothing protects their small bodies from the cold; the price of a coat nowadays equals a month’s salary,” she says.
Teacher Marwa Omar Safaya has seen the war’s impact on children.
The reasons behind the economic collapse are manifold, and many of them are interrelated, such as widespread destruction, international sanctions and the collapse of Lebanon’s banking system.
Statistics by UNOCHA underscore the situation’s severity. The number of people in need has increased by 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. Of Syria’s 18 million people, over 13 million need humanitarian assistance, and six million need it urgently. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned in February that a record number of 60 per cent of the population suffers from a lack of food.
Amid these needs, it is challenging to reconstruct cities ruined by a decade of war. The coronavirus pandemic and the measures curbing it further complicates daily life.
During the first lockdowns, experts worldwide expressed their concerns on how closing schools might affect learning globally. UNICEF and the World Bank said that already a few months of school closure might scar a generation, and worst-case predictions fear entire “lost generations”.
In Syria, the pandemic is only the tip of the iceberg. The country hosts millions of students who have gone to school in exceptional circumstances. Teacher Marwa Omar Safaya feels the pain of her students.
“We try to convince them that life has a lot to offer and that miracles happen when you go to school and work hard. At the end of the day, they only think of how they can complete their mandatory studies to find work and earn food to their table,” Marwa describes.
Eight-grader Ghadeer Al Aghawan is disappointed by the lack of computers in her school.
Eight-grader Ghadeer Al Aghawan says she is grateful for all that has been done for her school during the past years, but some things still disappoint her.
“We have IT classes but only theory. We do not have any equipment to practice what we learn, and that is sometimes frustrating. I know that outside our small town, the rest of the world is dependent on computers and technology. I feel like I am falling behind.”
Ghadeer’s disappointment is understandable. The digital divide between different societies is deep, and the divide increases inequality.
Finnish schools, for instance, utilised the internet for learning already when I was at Ghadeer’s age in 2007, and students did school assignments on computers. In Syria, this chance does not exist for most people, even today. It would not even be possible to introduce digital systems amid war. Computers require connections, connections rely on infrastructure, and infrastructure is built with money.
One thing is obvious: the schools play an essential part in disasters like the war in Syria. The schools offer a safe space and room to breathe for children enduring challenging circumstances. Ghadeer has found solace in school.
“For now, I only try to do my best at school”, Ghadeer says.
She has faith in a better future.
“Even after all the fighting, good things have happened, and I’m waiting for the good things that are still to happen.”
Children living through war need to experience moments in which they feel like children. And schools are the best place for that.
Ulriikka Myöhänen
The author works as Communications Specialist for the Middle East at FCA. FCA supports access to quality education for internally displaced people in Syria.
In 2020, a total of 107,187 learners in 57 schools in Bidibidi, Kyaka II and Rwamwanja refugee settlements benefitted from Finn Church Aid’s education project funded by the Education Cannot Wait fund.
The project included, among other things, classroom renovation, construction of teacher housing, teacher training to improve the quality of education and distribution of scholastic materials and sanitary kits for girls.
During school closure due to Covid-19, FCA promoted child protection and continued learning at home through home learning packages, radio lectures and teacher support for small groups of learners.
When fighting resumed in South Sudan in 2016, millions of people sought refuge in neighbouring Uganda. Bidibidi quickly became the largest refugee settlement in the world.
One of Uganda’s 1,4 million refugees is Sylvia Poni, 17, who found her new home here with her 75-year-old grandmother Joanne Pilista. They stay with two small children that Joanne took under her wing during the flight.
Leaving their previous life behind has been tough, but grandma Joanne believes that the quality of education in Uganda has positively impacted Sylvia. The firm structures of Yoyo Primary School are visible through the thick bush by the family’s house.
“We are from Kajo Keji where schools were made of grass,” Joanne explains. “Parents had to take time off their work to fetch grass and mud to build the schools – or prevent them from falling apart.”
Sylvia also loves the fact that there are many classrooms. She feels safe and comfortable at school, and rain or shine, lessons go on throughout the day.
Grandma Joanne never went to school herself. She wishes she could go back in time and get an education. For Sylvia, it is still possible, and she is determined to take her chance.
“I want to become a teacher and go back to South Sudan,” she says. “I want to help those who have dropped out of school so that they can achieve their goals and find jobs.”
The elderly are in a particularly vulnerable position in Uganda’s refugee settlements. With access to education and livelihoods, the community can also create a better future for the family’s seniors.
Seven years ago, Elizabeth Kapinga and her family hid in the bush on their way to the Ugandan border. The family was fleeing the unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and had to travel on foot for three weeks without getting a lift by car.
“The shots were coming from all directions, and we hurried the children along. Looking back on it, I think about how life has been so hard for us, but I know others are still suffering and losing their lives,” says 80-year-old Kapinga.
Kapinga and her four children, son-in-law, and ten grandchildren have stayed in Rwamwanja refugee settlement since 2013. In the DRC, Kapinga lost her spouse, four children, and three grandchildren, and thinking about them makes her sad.
“I had a good life. I got married, and I was happy. Then the Lord separated me from my husband, and I was all alone,” says Kapinga.
Elizabeth Kapinga lives in Uganda as a refugee. She says that returning to her home in the DRC is unlikely.
Uganda hosts 1,4 million refugees. Most of them come from neighbouring countries, such as the DRC, where several armed groups fight each other. The conflict is dangerous to civilians. The unrest has cost people their homes and possessions, and particularly women face the threat of violence and rape.
Kapinga’s family is safe, but their daily life is challenging. The refugee settlement faces a shortage of many necessities, and for many families, the food assistance available is not enough for surviving. The availability of health care services and medicine is low, and the prices are high.
Kapinga’s family’s situation has improved since her son-in-law Lucien Kagoro graduated from the Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) centre established by Finn Church Aid (FCA) in Rwamwanja. Kagoro joined his extended family in Rwamwanja in 2017 after working as a teacher in the DRC. He could not find work in Ugandan schools because of language barriers, but the vocational training opened up a new career path for him and many other youths.
Kagoro trained to become a hairdresser, and he now runs a successful salon. His work secures a livelihood for the whole extended family and enables the children to go to school. Kagoro lost his parents in the conflict, and his wife’s family, including his mother-in-law, is the only family he has.
“I love my mother-in-law. She has given me so much. My family is doing well now,” says Kagoro.
Lucien Kagoro supports his extended family. The wellbeing of his mother-in-law is essential to him.
After the hardships in his home country, Kagoro says that he now lives in peace in Uganda.
“I’m happy with the life we have now,” says Kagoro.
Grandmother Kapinga likes to spend her days with her grandchildren. Watching the children play takes her mind off unpleasant memories. A secure livelihood gives her the chance to enjoy her daily life.
“I’m happy for my son-in-law’s work. He enjoys it, and it enables him to take care of us. I don’t know how we would manage if Lucien didn’t have his salon,” says Kapinga.
The refugee settlement faces a shortage of many necessities.
In the vocational education centre, 70 per cent of the students are refugees from the DRC. Out of the young people who have completed their training, more than 70 per cent have found employment or started their own business.
“Educating children and youth is a way of building the future and investing in the sustainable development of entire communities. After the urgent emergency relief, we start building the future of families through education and livelihoods,” says Eija Alajarva, Head of Humanitarian Assistance at FCA.
Advanced age and life experiences bring with them injuries and illnesses that complicate mobility and access to information. It is essential to do outreach work and provide help in the home when working with the elderly and persons with disabilities.
“When people are forced to flee, families may fall apart. Members of a family may not end up in the same refugee settlement, and while families normally take care of the elderly, that can change in a crisis,” says Alajarva.
The constant threat of violence also drove Maria Nyrambagazohe, 67, to flee her home village in the DRC with her two grandchildren. They fled on foot, which forced them to leave all their belongings behind. Since 2018, the family lives in Kyaka II refugee settlement in Uganda.
Maria Nyrambagazohe is often sick, which makes working and household chores hard for her.
Nyrambagazohe’s husband and two sons lost their lives in the unrest. Her daughter, the mother of her grandchildren, remained in the DRC. The family does not know whether she is still alive. Nyrambagazohe is now the guardian of Anarite, 8, and Sylvester, 10.
“I think about my family every day. The children keep asking when they get to see their mother again,” says Nyrambagazohe.
While the refugee settlement is peaceful, the family’s day-to-day life is tough. Nyrambagazohe and the children are often sick, and work exhausts her quickly, causing her all kinds of ache and pain. The children support her with household chores, such as cleaning and fetching water.
The elderly are respected and have an important role in communities, and people want to take care of their wellbeing. In times of crisis, they might still end up as caretakers. If the parents have died or are otherwise absent, the grandparents – often the grandmothers – have to take care of their grandchildren.
The biggest challenge of Nyrambagazohe’s family is hunger. Because of her age and condition, she cannot work, and the family lives in poverty. Like many other families in the refugee settlement, they all receive 21,000 Ugandan shillings per month as a World Food Programme (WFP) assistance for food. The money can get them 8 kilograms of cornmeal, an equal amount of beans or 1.5 kilograms of meat.
“It is not easy for the children to be hungry all day long,” says Nyrambagazohe.
For most elderly refugees, returning to their home country might not be possible. Nyrambagazohe misses her friends and other villagers back home. In Uganda, she often feels lonely, but she says she enjoys the peacefulness.
” I never used to be able to sleep before, but now I sleep well, she says.
The joy of the children delights their grandmother. Her biggest wish is that they will have a good future.
Anarite and Sylvester are used to their life in the refugee settlement. They play football and skip rope with the neighbourhood’s children. Watching them play makes Nyrambagazohe happy. When her grandchildren can go to school, she knows they can have a future.
“We are grateful for the support for school materials, fees, and clothing. Education will enable the children to find employment and care for their families when they grow up,” says Nyrambagazohe.
Photos and interviews in Uganda: Sumy Sadurni
Text: Noora Pohjanheimo
Translation: Leena Vuolteenaho
Old wooden school structures covered with the recognisable UNHCR white tarpaulin are a dead giveaway: refugees go to this school.
But behind the white canvases are four colourful, bright orange, concrete buildings with green windows and hallways. This is Ebenezer Secondary School, a school for both South Sudanese refugees and Ugandan youth in the Obongi District of Palorinya refugee settlement in northern Uganda.
“Teaching in the old structures was tough,” explains Winnie Akol, a teacher from Eastern Uganda currently residing at the school. She points at the old tent-like structures.
“The classrooms were congested, there was not enough air coming in. We teachers could not reach the back of the room to check on the other children because the rooms were so small. When it rained, we had to stop the lessons because we could not hear ourselves over the rain pounding on the iron sheets. No one could focus on the lecture and it was always so dusty inside.”
Winnie Akol, from eastern Uganda, teaches in Ebenezer Secondary School in Palorinya refugee settlement in northern Uganda. Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) work at the school is funded by The U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
Winnie believes that after the new structures were constructed, children’s learning has improved because they have no distractions. Two of the main classrooms are laboratories for science and have electricity, sinks and Bunsen burners with which the children can practice chemistry.
South Sudanese Simon Peter was out of school for long because he could not reach the classroom. An inclusive education project in Kakuma refugee camp brought him a new chance while teaching teachers and parents how to support persons with disabilities.
Simon Peter is 24 years old but is only in primary class 3. He enrolled in school for the first time ten years earlier after growing up in a rural area of South Sudan. Before that, schools were located too far for him.
Simon was born with hemiplegia. Hemi means “half” and hemiplegia refers to the paralysis of half of the body. He had no wheelchair to help him reach a school. His chance to join school came only when his family moved to a city.
“I never got a chance to socialize and play with other children. I was indoors most of the time”, Simon describes his childhood.
Shortly after Simon started his education, South Sudan slid into a civil war that disrupted his learning. It took a long time before he could enrol again, this time in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Finn Church Aid’s project for supporting special needs education issued him with a wheelchair to help him reach the school.
Simon’s guardian Mark Loyiel is grateful for the opportunity for Simon to catch up with education.
“I used to carry him wherever he needed to go. It is a relief that I can wheel him to school, and he manages the school day by himself while I report to other duties. Then I pick him up after the classes”, he says.
Inclusive education and learning environment
Finn Church Aid’s special needs education project benefits 275 children and youth with disabilities that live in the refugee camp in Kenya. The project has also trained 69 teachers on inclusive education that bridges the language barriers of refugee learners and prepares teachers to meet the needs of learners with disabilities. The support to the learners also includes wheelchairs, stationaries, textbooks, school uniforms and food.
Ensuring an inclusive learning environment also requires construction work. The project has built disability-friendly classrooms and pit latrines in all the primary schools and Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centres in Kalobeyei settlement, a part of Kakuma refugee camp.
When Kenya ordered schools to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic, FCA distributed solar-powered radios to enable Simon and other persons with disabilities to participate in radio lectures. Teachers have complemented broadcasts with home visits and by following up on the homework of learners.
Parents and guardians actively involved in their children’s education
The project has actively involved parents and guardians of children with disabilities in supporting the special needs education, says Simon’s guardian Mark Loyiel. Mark is also happy that the schools include those with disabilities in physical activities, such as ball games. Before the pandemic, they were all cheering in inter-village competitions for learners – with or without disabilities, playing together as one family.
Mark is particularly grateful for the psychosocial support that goes with the project. The staff of FCA visit their home to engage with the family and build a stronger understanding of persons with disabilities.
“We have found new aspects of understanding and respect for Simon’s personality and dignity. Persons with disabilities are not a burden – they are unique human beings like anyone”, he says.
“The home visits of the staff make us feel like we are one family to them.”
Simon Peter has grown much and describes himself as very peaceful. He dreams of becoming a teacher for primary class 1 and wants to teach mathematics and science to children with disabilities.
“I want to give back for the support I have received, and I feel that I know from experience what children with disabilities need when they grow up.”
