• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

UNHCR supports the vulnerable with shelter in northern Uganda

News Stories, 20 February 2009

© UNHCR/M.Odokonyero
A group of displaced people with special needs who have benefitted from the UNHCR shelter programme.

GULU, Uganda, February 20 (UNHCR) – Jennifer Lamaro's life collapsed around her two years ago, when the Ugandan woman was left a paraplegic after falling from a tree while picking mangoes for her children. Things got worse. "After that incident my husband left me. I have never seen him again," the 29-year-old explained.

But now she and hundreds of other people with disabilities or special needs have something to be happy about, thanks to a UNHCR-funded shelter programme. Last year, the refugee agency built 2,036 houses in the northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum and Pader and more are planned for this year.

The beneficiaries are all people with special needs who were displaced during two decades of fighting between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

Tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) have been taking advantage of the improved security in northern Uganda over the past three years to return to villages that may have lain empty since the start of the conflict in 1987. But many people with special needs, including the disabled, the sick and the elderly, have been unable to leave the IDP camps.

"The vast majority of people with special needs [in IDP camps] want to return to their home villages. But we found that most of them were unable to build their own permanent shelters, which meant that they could not leave the IDP camps," said Mikael Rasmussen, an associate protection officer at UNHCR's sub-office in Gulu.

"In response, UNHCR and its partners identified and helped the most vulnerable among them," he added, explaining that they worked with the local communities to build new mud and wattle huts for people like the wheelchair-bound Lamaro.

"As you can see, I can't do much. I can't cut thatch for the hut," Lamaro recently told UNHCR visitors. "If I hadn't received help, I would still be in the camp," she added. Rasmussen said that Lamaro and others in the shelter programme would receive support from their community, including members of their close and extended families.

Last year, UNHCR conducted a survey in the main IDP camps in northern Uganda to identify the number of people with special needs. They found and registered 3,467 in Gulu district, 2,645 in Kitgum district and more than 8,500 in Pader district. Most said they wanted to return home.

The two decades of fighting in northern Uganda drove almost 2 million people from their homes. Almost 800,000 have left the camps since stuttering peace talks began in Sudan between the rival sides in 2006. An estimated 420,000 people were still in IDP camps at the end of last year.

By Moses Odokonyero in Gulu, Uganda

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

Shelter

One of the first things that people need after being forced to flee their homes, whether they be refugees or internally displaced, is some kind of a roof over their head.

People with disabilities

Between 2.3 and 3.3 million of the world's forcibly displaced people live with disabilities, one third of them children.

A Time Between: Moving on from Internal Displacement in Uganda

This document examines the situation of IDPs in Acholiland in northern Uganda, through the stories of individuals who have lived through conflict and displacement.

Internally Displaced People

The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country, where they need help.

Related Internet Links

UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites

Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees

During Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war more than 1 million people were uprooted from their homes or forced to flee, often repeatedly. Many found shelter in UNHCR-supported Open Relief Centers, in government welfare centers or with relatives and friends.

In February 2002, the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signed a cease-fire accord and began a series of talks aimed at negotiating a lasting peace. By late 2003, more than 300,000 internally displaced persons had returned to their often destroyed towns and villages.

In the midst of these returns, UNHCR provided physical and legal protection to war affected civilians – along with financing a range of special projects to provide new temporary shelter, health and sanitation facilities, various community services, and quick and cheap income generation projects.

Sri Lanka: IDPs and Returnees

Uganda: Sudanese Refugees Flee Rebel Attacks

On August 5, 2002, some 24,000 Sudanese refugees fled their homes in Achol-Pii camp in northern Uganda after a bloody attack by the Lord's Liberation Army rebel group. More than 60 refugees and many local villagers were killed in the attack.

Fearing further violence, displaced refugees trekked overnight to Lira, from where UNHCR trucked them to Kiryondongo, 100 km to the south-west. Kiryondongo site, a settlement already hosting 13,000 refugees, was temporarily extended to accommodate the Achol-Pii survivors until another site could be prepared.

Arriving families were initially accommodated at an expanded reception centre at Kiryondongo. After being registered, the new arrivals received UNHCR plastic sheeting, an emergency food ration and a 20 x 15-metre plot per family to build their own temporary shelter. UNHCR also distributed blankets and jerry cans. Additional latrines were also dug, new water pumps installed and a new emergency clinic was set up.

Uganda: Sudanese Refugees Flee Rebel Attacks

Running for shelter in Côte d'Ivoire

UNHCR has expressed its mounting concern about civilians trapped in the Abobo district of Cote d'Ivoire's commercial centre, Abidjan, following days of fierce fighting between forces loyal to rival presidential candidates. The situation there remains grim. Many of the 1.5 million inhabitants of Abobo have fled, but armed groups are reportedly preventing others from leaving. UNHCR is particularly concerned about vulnerable people, such as the sick and the elderly, who may not be able to leave.

Running for shelter in Côte d'Ivoire

A Perilous RoutePlay video

A Perilous Route

Kassala camp in eastern Sudan provides shelter to thousands of refugees from Eritrea. Many of them pass through the hands of ruthless and dangerous smugglers.
Philippines: Landless in MindanaoPlay video

Philippines: Landless in Mindanao

Displaced by fighting, one indigenous community in the Philippines didn't want food or shelter -- only training to stand up for their rights.
Somalia: First airliftPlay video

Somalia: First airlift

UNHCR's first aid flight to Somalia in five years lands in Mogadishu with 31 metric tons of shelter materials and other relief items for displaced Somalis.