BONDEKO REFUGEE LIVELIHOODS CENTER

Business Informations

Company Name: BONDEKO REFUGEE LIVELIHOODS CENTER

Business overview

CONTEXT The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates the existence of over 65.6 million forcibly displaced people. 22.5 million are refugees, the majority of whom live in impoverished countries and do not receive any form of aid or support. ‘They may flee their homes with just the clothes on their backs,’ the UNHCR Livelihoods and Self-Reliance homepage reads, ‘but forcibly displaced people always carry something of considerable value: their knowledge, skills and experience.’ ? This statement is highly relevant for refugees in Kampala. Kampala refugees, mainly coming from nearby Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the current South Sudan, often have important business experience, or interest in learning new skills. Especially because urban refugees are not provided with material assistance (such as shelter or food), refugees in Kampala strive to become self-reliant. However, many do not know English when they first arrive in Uganda, and struggle to find programs where they can become trained in livelihoods. ? The Bondeko Refugee Livelihoods Center addresses this gap through providing a Livelihoods Program run by refugees themselves, where refugees can learn skills in their own native language as well as learn English, and find a community to develop social networks within and beyond.