A positive impact in the education and WASH sector for refugees and host communities in Northern Uganda

An internationally recognized model for response

Contributing to the Government of Uganda’s Settlement Transformation Agenda, RRF was coordinated by Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister, with support from NIRAS as the implementation consultant contracted to manage the grant and supervise its intervention projects. Two NGOs – Save the Children International and Oxfam – were selected to implement the social and economic infrastructure projects on the ground. RRF involved collaboration beyond these players, including other international and local NGOs, consultancies, national and local governments as well as other relevant stakeholders such as technical ministries.

Two sites in northern Uganda were chosen for the interventions: the Bidibidi settlement in Yumbe district and Rhino Camp settlement in Madi Okollo and Terego districts. These settlements are largely populated by people fleeing conflict in South Sudan; South Sudanese people represent 57% of all refugees in Uganda. There have been many challenges at Bidibidi and Rhino Camp. Before the RRF, access to basic necessities such as functional latrines, hand-washing facilities and drinking water had been limited. Classrooms were also overcrowded, with some children having to be taught outdoors. Incidence of waterborne diseases and school dropout rates were high. Given the alarming situation, the RRF sought to address these critical issues through infrastructure projects and an education programme that would bring about positive change in the lives of refugees and host communities alike.

Improved WASH access at Rhino Camp settlement

At the Rhino Camp settlement, access to clean water was a primary concern, and Oxfam was tasked with developing water infrastructure for the settlement and its host communities in Madi Okollo and Terego. The water infrastructure has gone a long way towards helping community members who have needed it the most. “Before settling here, I had a lot of challenges in accessing clean water because of my illness that had immobilised me,” shares Evelyn Achan, one of the refugees at the settlement. “When the project began, I was the first person to request for water to be brought closer. My son went and requested for a water source, which was done and is now helping me.”

Now, Evelyn is able to access water from a tap less than five metres outside her house. “Thank you for bringing this water, and improving my life,” she says. “A load has been lifted from my son’s shoulders because I can now fend for myself with a closer source of water.”

Increased access to water has also been vital for health in all of the affected communities. “Before the RRF was initiated, there were many disease outbreaks. For example, cholera, hepatitis and water-borne diseases in general,” says Olama Taban, acting chief of Pawor sub-county in Madi Okollo. “When the water was actually put right, and people started using the [clean] water, those cases were reduced and became controllable.” Altogether, there has been a 13.5% decrease in incidence of water-borne diseases in the region.

Increased access to water has also had a welcome, if unexpected, development in promoting gender equity. Collecting water for household use is part of the daily routine of most young women, so closer proximity to water sources means this task has become much easier for them. This has led to a 24% decrease in the number of girls who spend over 30 minutes a day collecting water. All in all, the project reported a 21% decrease in girls dropping out of school since its intervention.

Quality education for children at Bidibidi settlement

In Yumbe district, closer to the South Sudanese border, Bidibidi settlement is the largest refugee settlement in Uganda and – up until 2017 – was the largest in the world. Here, Save the Children implemented interventions to facilitate quality learning for refugee and host community children. Prior to the project, lack of infrastructure was a major challenge facing schools, causing overcrowding and lack of access. Many classrooms were also semi-permanent structures built of light materials that were vulnerable to bad weather. Under the project, 105 permanent classrooms were constructed in various schools, all designed to be accessible for disabled persons, and 16 accommodation units for teachers were built on school premises.

One of the major successes of the project was the creation of the Twajiji Hope Primary School, which was built to take younger students from Twajiji Main that had well over 5,000 enrolments from all over the district. Many students also faced the challenge of coming a very far distance for studies and going home late. The construction of Twajiji Hope has helped to alleviate many students’ difficulties.

“There has been a big change,” says Maritiyel Patrick, head teacher at Twajiji Hope. “The school learning areas have become spacious enough for learning. Classrooms are now comfortably occupied by the learners. Teachers feel that they are also delivering the right information in the right space … A child feels comfortable to sit in the classroom and continuously study. The tendency of leaving the classroom has been reduced and attendance has greatly improved.”

Apart from infrastructure, other interventions included providing training for 208 teachers in accelerated learning programme methodologies and other continuous learning approaches. This has directly led to the successful re-entry of 952 former school drop-outs aged 10-18 into mainstream schooling. The accelerated education programme had even attracted some young adults over 18 years of age who had previously been uncomfortable to return to classes where they had dropped out.