It’s one of our last days in Nakivale (for now!) and we thought we’d do a little something to make our office a better space for refugees. The ARC compound is a hub of activity throughout the day. Situated in the center of the settlement, in what is called basecamp, it’s nearby other offices offering services to refugees. You’ll always find it filled with people coming, going and seeking a slice of shade while waiting for appointments or just catching up with neighbors. “People that don’t even have appointments come here, just to be close to the office. They feel safe just being here,” says Jimmy, ARC’s logistics officer. With a few volunteers, we set about transforming what once was a storage tent into a cool, waiting area. The first step was clearing out and organizing the various items that cluttered the tent. Next, it was time for a good scrubbing to take off the layer of Nakivale dust. Now that the tent was looking nice and clean, we need something that would … [Read more...] about A Pitched Tent

Sonia, ARC Protection Officer, works in Nakivale keeping women and families safe. Over her years of working in Nakivale, she has met amazing individuals and has gotten to know the community. But, her job can also be really tough. She meets women who are facing all kinds of unsafe situations in their own homes – domestic violence and abuse. If they find themselves in an unresolved violent situation, she helps them to move to a new home within the settlement and feel secure again. It’s no small feat. When a family first enters the settlement, they receive a package of items to help them begin again – a hoe to plant their garden, blankets, cooking pots, plastic sheeting to help build their home. But, when someone is forced to leave their home to move within the settlement, these items are left behind. So, Sonia’s idea is to put together transition kits. “It’s a way to help someone who has been forced from their home,” says Sonia, ARC Protection Officer as she explains her idea … [Read more...] about Easing Transition

Back on Day 14, we gave one of the counseling rooms in Nakivale a makeover. That new space has been so loved that our counseling team wanted to makeover another of their counseling spaces! One of the most important services we offer is counseling and having spaces that are welcoming and soothing will make all the difference. So, today we are clearing out broken-down file cabinets and wobbly desks and testing our carpentry skills. "Removing the desk is like removing a barrier. The set-up should be open, comfortable. It is better when providing counseling," said Deus, ARC Technical Advisor. After putting together the furniture, the next step was to add a few details to brighten the space. A soft rug that would provide comfort, plants to encourage growth and artwork to add color – all small changes that transformed the space into a calming, inviting environment. "We want to give the best to the people we serve," said Hope, ARC Counselor. "Now, we are better able to … [Read more...] about A Made-Over Space

One of our very first Changemaker 365 ideas was to provide lights to one of the safe houses in Nakivale. Now, we are doing that for all of the safe houses in Nakivale - one small step to making the safe houses just a little safer. Safe houses offer protection to people fleeing domestic abuse, sexual assault and violence. Like its name suggest, its primary purpose is to offer safety. For someone who has just fled a violent situation or an abusive partner, establishing a sense of security is important. In our own homes, we use many things to keep us safe – security systems, fences, locks and light are just a few. While we didn’t have the budget to do everything, Changemakers 365 is about doing what we can. So, with $500 we could do something for the safe houses in Nakivale. With a few solar lights in hand, we headed to our office in Juru, a district of Nakivale, and sat down with Dorica, an ARC Counselor. "When someone comes to the safe house, some cannot even manage … [Read more...] about Lighting Up The Night

Who knew a manual could surprise and delight! But that was certainly the case on Day 145. SASA kits are a resource for ARC staff in locations around the world. It’s a set of binders that helps social workers and development professionals work to prevent violence against women as well as the spread of HIV. ARC’s protection teams use the kits to guide many of our activities and interventions. They’re a very valuable resource. That might explain ARC social worker Dorica’s response when we delivered a kit to the Juru sub-office where she works in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. “I’ve been waiting for this,” said Dorica. “When I started working for ARC in February, I got to look through the SASA kit at the head office. It’s full of so many wonderful resources. But we only had the one kit, and that needed to stay in the sub-office.” Dorica couldn’t wait to start taking a look through the four manuals included in the kit! “Whenever I have a little bit of down time, I’ll be looking … [Read more...] about An Activist Resource

Community Activists are so important to their communities. That much is clear even in just the last two days as they were trained to provide home-based care for ill neighbors and kitted out with the tools and supplies they need for their work. But one of the most vital things these activists provide is information. They’re from every different community and nationality in Nakivale settlement, and they pass the information they hear from ARC and other organizations on to their neighbors. Messages about hygiene and violence prevention. So, we wanted to help them reach even more in their community and maybe give their vocal chords a bit of a rest. On Day 144, each community activist received a speaker. “We go house-to-house to spread positive messages about things like sending girls to school,” said Community Activist Ezekiel Busimba. “Now I can load songs onto the speaker about preventing violence and play those for my community, too.” The new speakers will allow the … [Read more...] about Amplifying Voices

Knowing is half the battle. Yesterday, our community activists were trained to provide home-based care to neighbors unable to make it to the clinic or living out their final days at home. Trainees like Verene were excited by what they learned, “today’s training was the best.” But without some of the tools to provide that care, their new knowledge wouldn’t allow them to help their neighbors in the way they could. So, on Day 143, we outfitted each of the trainees with their very own home-care kit. They all received rubber gloves and medical aprons to help protect themselves and their patients. Part of home care means helping patients with cleanliness, so each kit contained bleach, hand soap and laundry soap. And to provide their patients, they received a small stock of adult diapers, toothbrushes and toothpaste. “I’m so excited. I’ve been going to see patients without these materials,” said Verene. “Now, these will assist us with the hygiene of the patients and ourselves.” … [Read more...] about Equipped To Care

One year ago, three ARC team members – Beth from Minneapolis, Sonia from Uganda and Ajjima in Thailand – put their heads together and submitted an idea about hospice care for refugees to ARC’s Changemakers Award idea competition. Part of their idea was to train community volunteers in camps to provide home-based care for their neighbors. On Day 142, we’re making it happen. In Nakivale, there are many people who are nearing the end of their lives or are ill and can’t make it into the clinic. They’re at home and many don’t have family who are able to care for them appropriately. So, the idea was to train a group of people who could help. And we had the perfect group – ARC’s Community Activists, volunteers who help share messages with their communities about health and preventing violence. ARC team members Dorica and Hope assembled the group for a training on the basics of home-care, including: bedside manner, how to help a patient be as comfortable as possible, and handwashing … [Read more...] about Comfortable At Home

On Day 140, we learned more about the issues young girls face in continuing on to secondary school. "No one teaches about menstruation. Even the parents don’t tell their girls. It takes a girl by surprise," said Agnes, ARC Sanitation Officer. The shame that can accompany beginning menstruation can be made worse by not being prepared to face such a change. So, today we are doing the doable to help keep girls in school. Ruhoko Primary School has over 800 girls in attendance – both refugees and Ugandans. But, many will drop out when they begin menstruating because simply staying clean and keeping their school uniform unstained is a challenge. “Building a water tank, this will make a change for these girls,” said Agnes. With the help of a local engineer in Nakivale, we constructed a water tank next to the girls washroom. This will give girls access to running water to wash out their reusable pads. "This way we can let people know the process is normal," said Agnes. … [Read more...] about Growing Up, Staying in School

In Nakivale, nearly half the population are kids of school-going age. The challenges of just getting to school and being able to afford the materials cause many to dropout. In fact, the largest rate of dropout is among students moving on to secondary school. Less than 10% of kids who go to primary school continue on with their education. Many who dropout before secondary school are girls - and the reason for that is often very simple. “They get their periods,” explained Sonia, ARC Protection Officer, “and it can be difficult to continue going to school.” Sonia meets young girls faced with this decision each and every day. She wanted to do something that would encourage girls to stay in school. She knew that a few simple supplies could make the decision to stay in school an easy one for young girls. So, we visited the PS7 class (equivalent of 6th grade in the US) at Kashojwa Primary School. We brought 100 kits, filled with reusable sanitary pads, laundry soap, body … [Read more...] about Continuing On