The Protection Centers in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement are a focal point for the community, where ARC volunteers talk to those living nearby about what they need and how they’re dong. “Our team goes to talk to the community every day,” said Hildah, ARC’s Protection Manager in Bidi Bidi. “Many times the youth, they ask us for footballs.” The ARC team helps kids like Edson. Edson made his football (soccer ball to those from the U.S.) from garbage he found blowing through this neighborhood. Layers and layers of dusty plastic make up his football, but it’s still a treasured part of his daily life. Hildah saw straight away how one simple change could build relationships and lift morale in the new refugee settlement – get these kids some brand new footballs. It didn’t take long for Hildah to find a way to get the footballs her team needed. She reached out to the ARC team in Minneapolis, who connected with the St. Croix Soccer Club from Stillwater, Minnesota. The soccer club … [Read more...] about A Little Fun

The road to Bidi Bidi is long. It takes days of travel to get there from South Sudan, weeks and months for some. And for women, the journey is much more treacherous - the threat of assault and harassment a reality for almost all. Many reach Bidi Bidi after this kind of trauma and don’t know where to go for support. That's where the ARC team steps in. The team is trained to find these women and help them as quickly as possible. This might mean rushing a woman to the hospital or to the police. It may also mean simply listening to their stories or offering counseling. And, on days like Day 32 of this challenge, it means offering a few simple items that can make a world of difference. “Today we’re taking kits to the community,” said Hildah, who spearheads the effort to protect vulnerable women and girls as ARC’s Protection Manager in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlmenet. “The kit contains a knicker, sanitary towels, wipes, soap and lotion.” These items can be hard to find in … [Read more...] about The Road to Recovery

Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement is enormous. It takes hours to drive across the entire settlement, with villages scattered throughout the desert landscape. Hildah, Protection Manager for ARC in Bidi Bidi, manages the team of ARC volunteers who work throughout these small villages. And they have a big job – they build relationships with leaders, children, moms – anyone who comes to them with a special need. They connect refugees to resources that ARC provides, helping them to navigate through the camp. This volunteer team comes from all over Uganda, some from far away and others from the nearby villages that surround Bidi Bidi. Many have their own financial challenges. Still, they are dedicated to building this network. To helping as many people as they can. “But when someone has a special need or even an emergency, they need somehow to call us. They need cell phones to communicate,” Hildah explained. A simple solution? Equipping these volunteers with cell phones. Each … [Read more...] about Staying Connected

When refugees leave their homes, they often don’t have much time - if any - to prepare. They run with just the clothes on their back, not knowing exactly where they’ll end up. Or where their next meal will come from. “When I ran, I had only this one piece of clothing,” said one young boy to Hildah, ARC’s Protection Manager in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement. “And that was one child with a mother,” Hildah said. “The children who come without mothers and fathers, it is the neighbor who comes to us and says, ‘You see this one child? She is alone. She doesn’t even have clothes to wear.'” Clothes are not hard to find in Uganda - unless you’re a newly arrived refugee in Bidi Bidi. And it’s especially hard for those children who reach Bidi Bidi completely alone, as hundreds of them have. One of our jobs in Bidi Bidi is to place these kids with foster families - but foster families are refugees themselves. They often have a difficult time providing the extra support that the child … [Read more...] about A Second Shirt

After our team built a brand new Protection Center in Bidi Bidi, Vivienne was looking for a place to sit inside. Vivienne is a Protection volunteer for ARC in Bidi Bidi, and it’s her job to help refugees connect to resources available in the camp. “I collect information from them. They tell me what their needs are, and I pass it over to teams who can help,” she said. But despite the new work space, we had yet to designate a comfortable spot for Vivienne to sit and talk with her community. So on Day 29, we decided to ensure that Vivienne and her colleagues have that place to sit. A place to talk with refugees seeking support. The ARC team purchased chairs and desks, with a simple notebook and pen. Pencils and pens are at the ready, and plants kept neatly on top of the desk make visitors feel at home. We also bought some toys and games for the kids, who often come along with their parents. “We have toys now, so the moms can let their children play,” Vivienne added. … [Read more...] about A Place to Sit

Part of what makes Changemakers 365 so powerful is the ability to do something amazing for someone else - in the moment. As soon as an idea comes to mind. That’s what this project is all about. And that’s just what happened with Lomoro, who we first met on Day 17. So we decided to make Day 28 all about him – about making his dream just a little closer to reality. Lomoro is a carpenter. He’s also a refugee from South Sudan who fled to Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda. “Us South Sudanese refugees, we’ve been everywhere running up and down,” he said. “This is now my second time coming back to Uganda as a refugee. With my knowledge of carpentry, I was planning to build my business in South Sudan, but we had to run to the bush. What I planned I failed completely because of these rebels in South Sudan.” When the ARC team first saw the holes in the roof at the Ariwa Health Center, they asked if there was a carpenter nearby. Before long, Lomoro was there with his tape measure … [Read more...] about With a Hammer and Nails

ARC’s team in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement includes 25 volunteers. Some are refugees and some are Ugandan. The Ugandan volunteers come from all over the country, as far away as Mbale (an 8+ hour bus ride) and as close as Yumbe which is just down the road. Every morning they gather and – after an hour’s drive – they are dropped off one by one, section by section, to meet the community and help them understand and get access to services. When the volunteers meet with refugees, they are often having quite sensitive conversations about violence or other trauma. But at the moment these conversations are happening on a log, under a tree out in the open. Day 27 was dedicated to constructing a protection center – a dedicated space where refugees can feel safe and secure sharing their experiences and their needs with the ARC team. Vivienne is a Ugandan with a heart to help. 24 years old, Vivienne has been working with the team for two months and serves a section of Bidi Bidi called … [Read more...] about Protection Center

The Health Center in Ariwa has seen some major changes over the past few days. From a new ceiling, to a fresh coat of paint, to new sheets and pillows for the post-natal ward, this clinic is looking and serving patients better than ever. So for our final day at the Health Center, we decided to share this big change with the community. Opening the doors of the Health Center to nearby leaders, key partners, and the community at large, we celebrated this new beginning together. Speakers from the local government, the District Health Office, and officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) joined along with the leaders of the refugee villages of Ariwa. Those gathered were excited to see the changes. “These women have been delivering at home,” said Katherine, a refugee leader for her neighborhood in Ariwa. “Now we will tell them there is a better place.” Grace, another refugee leader, echoed Katherine. “For me I feel very nice because this … [Read more...] about A Place for Everyone

ARC’s number one job in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement is looking out for the most vulnerable among the already at-risk men, women, and children who have arrived there. So when we set off to work at Ariwa Health Center, in the middle of Bidi Bidi, one need was simple – determining who exactly would look out for those patients who need a little extra help. “Some people come alone to the health center with no people to sit with them, to help them get water, to help them find food,” said Hildah, the Protection Manager for ARC in Bidi Bidi. The solution? Hire a caretaker for the health center, whose job it is to look after those folks. So on Day 25 ARC staff set out to find the perfect person, someone who would lend a caring, supportive hand to those going through some of the toughest times in their lives. And because of the extensive network ARC has already built in the new settlement, finding Suzan was easy. “I want to help my people," Suzan said. “I want to help them … [Read more...] about A Little Help From a Friend

Alfred has been in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement for weeks. And in Bidi Bidi, which is vast with almost no means of transportation, you have to walk everywhere. But for someone like Alfred, whose legs are injured from a previous accident, even the walk to water is a challenge. When it rains and the dirt becomes slippery, slick mud, Alfred finds himself falling. When he first arrived in Bidi Bidi he found a piece of wood and whittled a cane. “I made it,” he said, “but it doesn’t help me much.” “We just want to enable them to have more freedom,” said Hildah, ARC’s Protection Manager in Bidi Bidi told us. Hildah and her team meet people like Alfred everyday. Many of them were injured as they ran, while some were already physically challenged and were carried the long journey to Bidi Bidi by their families. So on Day 24 the team found a quick solution – crutches. The ARC team traveled through the communities where they work, meeting with men and women in need of an easier way … [Read more...] about Moving Freely