There’s a lot of behind the scenes work that needs to happen for the water to flow at Nakivale Refugee Settlement – fixing pipes, pumping water from the lake, and treating it with chemicals that make it safe to drink. The water treatment teams who purify the water sometimes have the toughest job – they deal with harsh chemicals that can be harmful if they’re not careful. “These guys work really hard, some of them for over a decade,” said Andrew, our Operations Officer at Nakivale. “They’re the guys who do most of the work here – and sometimes it’s a huge challenge.” For Day 339, we’re thanking the water operators who are key to getting lifesaving, clean, and safe drinking water to people at Nakivale – by getting them new protective boots! We headed to the water station where the treatment teams work, 42 pairs of heavy duty gum boots in hand. They gathered round, eyeing the overstuffed gift bags warily – it’s tricky to gift wrap gum boots, it turns out! But when … [Read more...] about These Boots are Made for…Protecting
Changemakers365
The Pits
But we're about to introduce to you a team of incredible gentlemen that will have you feeling like the luckiest employee in the world. The Nakivale pit latrine cleaners are the unsung heroes of Nakivale hygiene. Human waste is a huge issue anywhere in the world. It has to be disposed of and it has to disposed of correctly. In a refugee settlement, there are no fancy septic machines, so the work has to be done manually. This is not a job anyone grows up dreaming of doing - but one that needs to be done. And this job is so difficult in part because the community does not fully respect the importance of the latrine cleaners. Many people purposely do not associate with them – they're looked down on for their line of work. The pit latrine cleaners take part in a thankless task and are even ostracized for their work to keep Nakivale clean. And for that, we wanted to thank them. On Day 338, we displayed our gratitude to the cleaners by providing each of them with rice, … [Read more...] about The Pits
Cheering Squad
The school mentors at Nyarugugu Primary School are truly incredible people. They take struggling kids under their wings, encouraging them to keep up their school work and offering emotional support when many kids have none. When we talked to our ARC teammate Sonia about who is most deserving of thanks in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, the mentors were top of mind. “What they do, it isn’t an easy task given our setting here. But they’ve helped those kids stay in school and focus on their academics.” We believe that having a champion cheering them on can mean all the difference to kids facing tough times. If it wasn’t for these mentors, the students we met yesterday might not show up to class each morning. So we put together a little something to show our deep gratitude for two mentors in particular – Generous and James – and met them at school to hand deliver our thanks in person! We presented Generous and James with gift food packages of rice, beans, sugar, and soap – … [Read more...] about Cheering Squad
Watts of Love
This month, every single Changemakers 365 idea is about giving thanks, doing the doable for the people who deserve it most. From our partners, to vendors, to the incredible people in the communities we serve, they’re the ones out of the spotlight, but in the center of what we do. For Day 336, we’re giving a special thanks to some of our youngest Changemakers in Nakivale Refugee Settlement – the highest achieving kids in school. These students face a lot of challenges even getting to the classroom everyday, much less excelling at their studies. They're role models for their peers. We had a perfect solution to show our gratitude to these students – solar-powered Watts of Love headlamps, made possible by our amazing friends at the Shine On Project. We met with Edwin, the headmaster at Nyarugugu Primary School, and talked to him about the benefits of having the headlamps. “These kids, they work so hard both day and night,” he said, “but it gets very dark here in Nakivale. … [Read more...] about Watts of Love
A Month of Thanks
December is a month for reflection, for giving and gratitude. For returning kindnesses, showing appreciation to the people in our lives who mean so much to us. That’s why this entire month of Changemakers 365 will be all about giving thanks. We went to our field teams in Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and more and asked them – who are the heroes out of the spotlight? Who makes our work possible? Whose day can we make by giving them an unexpected and joyful “thank you!”? We’re kicking off this month of generosity in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda, where we serve over 120,000 refugees. But our work there wouldn’t be possible without the incredible people we work with. So for Day 335, we’re thanking someone who goes above and beyond in her work for refugees – an all-star foster mom, Mama Noume. Mama Noume is one of those people who seem to have a bottomless well of kindness within them. As a refugee living in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, she’s taken it upon herself to support … [Read more...] about A Month of Thanks
On Top of the World
Today we're in Greece, where our friends from Communitere are doing the doable for refugees. We first met Communitere on Day 214, when they hosted their first workshop with refugees, exploring ways to help. And since then, they've continued to create opportunities for communities to think about and plan for their own futures. Refugees don't often get the opportunity to leave the camp and create new, joyful experiences. This is especially tough in Greece, which is filled with scenic hikes and natural beauty. So our friends at Communitere thought – why not organize a hiking trip? So on Day 334, we climbed Mt. Olympus! The hiking trip had two goals - to create a memorable experience, and to form new friendships between the refugees on the trip. Luckily for us, Mt. Olympus is one of the most historically exciting mountains in history, Home of Zeus AND the highest mountain in Greece, we were in for an exciting journey. Everyone piled in the bus for the 2-hour drive to the head … [Read more...] about On Top of the World
Readers are Leaders
Thousands of people living in Athens, refugees and migrants, do not have access to books in their own languages. Being able to read is so important for learning, entertainment, and relaxation. We Need Books is an organization that is doing the doable and providing books and libraries to refugees in Greece and we wanted to help. We teamed up with our friends Communitere and We Need Books to get the job done. “We wanted to create a space where everyone can find books in their natural language. An environment that feels like home, where people feel safe to meet and accept each other, exchange ideas and express their feelings and opinions," said Giorgos, a member of Communitere. We Need Books is working towards collecting 15,000 books to give to refugees. “There have been 5000 books collected thus far, and the goal is 15,000. The area of focus are books in Arabic, Farsi and Urdu,” said Giorgos. On Day 333, we gave brand new books written in Urdu, the native language in … [Read more...] about Readers are Leaders
A New Route
When you have refugees and host communities living separate lives from each other it becomes easy for rifts to grow between the two communities. Misinformation can spread and cause tension. But communication and interaction between local communities and refugees can help to ease feelings of distrust and help unify both communities. And today on Day 332 in Greece – and with our partners Communitere - that is just what we are setting out to do! In Polycastro, a rural town in Northern Greece, we organized the Routes Festival! It's a festival for the local community to interact with their refugee neighbors. There were workshops for children and adults, live music, kite-making, and Greek and Syrian food for everyone. The kite-making brought together locals and refugees. Children and parents worked together, remembering a less troubled time and letting themselves relax a little. Being able to take the time to dance, share food, and laugh truly shows that we are not all … [Read more...] about A New Route
Team Up to Teach
Today, we're working with Communitere again, this time in Bulgaria, where thousands of refugees live. The folks at Communitere wanted to find a way to build a much-needed supportive community for teachers working in Harmanli Refugee Camp. "The responsibility and challenges of filling the gap in education experienced by displaced children in this context is too large and complex to tackle it alone," said one member of Communitere. So for Day 331, we're teaming up for these teachers, holding a co-creation session to come up with a teaching field guide, so they can share their own teaching approaches in a challenging setting. After the 3-hour co-creation session, we had flipcharts filled with drawings and post-it notes, illustrating the challenges and opportunites that teachers have identified in their classrooms. It was powerful to see them come together from completely different backgrounds and share their passion for this work – and their love for their students. … [Read more...] about Team Up to Teach
Tiles for Change
A safe space is something every community needs to feel whole. In Thessaloniki, there are a large number of refugees without a friendly, inclusive space to gather. This is especially challenging for women and children. So on Day 330 with our partners Communitere, we set out to do the doable and make a safe space for women and children refugees in Thessaloniki. Communitere engages communities in a kind of DIY humanitarian relief. They create opportunities for communities to think about and plan for their own futures, and then they help them choose from a variety of tools and models that will help them get where they want to go. We wanted to work with Communitere to create a space that would allow refugee women and children in Thessaloniki to have a space to hold community activities. And they had an idea. Why not renovate an old space into a new, clean and usable community center? We re-tiled the floor of an old room to make it safe for children to run around in and made … [Read more...] about Tiles for Change