In a place as large as Nakivale Refugee Settlement, which spans 100 square miles and hosts over 80,000 residents, providing protection services can be a challenging task. It is simply too large for ARC staff to be everywhere at once.
That’s where ARC’s Community Activists come in. These are 100 volunteers, members of the communities in Nakivale, who want to be agents of change, of good. The volunteers are trained by ARC in how to deal with conflict resolution, how to encourage positive relationships in families, and how to get people, especially women and children, the support they need when they face abuse or violence in their homes. They act as ARC’s eyes and ears in the furthest corners of Nakivale. They’re vital to what ARC does – they’re the reason we can do so much to protect the most vulnerable in the settlement.
So Day 13 was about giving these volunteers the recognition they deserve – by honoring them in a public space and showing just a small token of our appreciation with a gift.
ARC staff gathered the 100 Community Activists under a shaded pavilion in Rubondo, the site of the renovated Safe Houses. Led by Deus, ARC’s Gender-Based Violence Technical Coordinator, each volunteer was introduced one-by-one and presented with their gift – a large bundle of sugar and soap, placed in a shimmering green bag.
The smiles from this unexpected recognition spread like wildfire, each volunteer intensely proud of their work and the important role they play in their communities.
“Thank you all so much,” said Deus, smiling in return, “This gift may be small, but we hope it lets you know how important you are to this work and how much we really appreciate what you do. And remember that even small hands, they can do big things.”
What Deus said rings true. Sometimes it’s the little things – like a public recognition, or a gift in appreciation – that can go so far to brighten someone’s day. To make the work they do just a little more meaningful. These gifts won’t mean everything, but they’ll mean something. And that’s what Changemakers 365 is all about – taking the first step to do something powerful for someone else, each and every day.
