Relief as 5,000 DRC refugees are moved to temporary camp
Displaced Congolese who fled to Uganda following the clashes between the ADF rebels and DRC government troops recently. PHOTO BY RUTH KATUSABE
What you need to know:
Temporary relief. The refugees have been living in poor conditions at five primary schools within Bundibugyo District ever since they fled fighting in their home country.
BUNDIBUGYO
More than 4,770 Congolese refugees have so far been re-located to Bubukwanga Transit Camp in Bundibugyo District in an exercise that started on Monday.
The development comes after more than 60,000 refugees began arriving in the border district last week when fighting broke out close to DRC’s border with Uganda. The refugees have been occupying five primary schools, disrupting lessons as fears of disease oubreaks also loomed. The new transit centre is located in Bubukwanga Sub-county, about 28km from the DRC-Uganda border, and is on a piece of land owned by Uganda Prisons.
Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) head of communications Catherine Ntabadde said 250 family tents hosting between six and 10 people and two communal tents accommodating about 400 people have been erected for the refugees.
Ms Ntabadde, however, called for more support as many more need to be resettled. “URCS is still seeking funds from partners in the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement and Ugandans of good will to support the operation,” she said on Tuesday.
URCS envisages spending about Shs2.5 billion in a three-month exercise. The money will be used to support host families, emergency tents, tarpaulins, essential household items such as cooking pots, blankets, cups, plates, soap, emergency latrines and hygiene promotion campaigns.
At the camp, two water tanks of 10, 000 litres each provided by UNICEF have been installed. URCS volunteers have erected bath shelters and constructed pit latrine blocks of 20 stances.
The Office of Prime Minister (OPM) is coordinating the operation and is assisted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, URCS, Lutheran World Federation, World Food Programme, Medicins Sans Frontiers, UNICEF and Oxfam.
Mr Charles Bafaaki, the coordinator of the Bundibugyo relocation exercise from OPM, had earlier told journalists that the temporary camp would accommodate 15,000 people, of the estimated 65,000 displaced people.
The district police commander, Mr Dennis Namuwooza, yesterday said most of the refugees were moved to the established camp, with only two emergency camps of Butogo and Busoru Primary School in Kisuba Sub-county still left. However, one child is reported to have died of fever in Bubukwanga refugee camp.
The Rwenzori sub-region police spokesperson, Mr Bakari Muga Bashir, said the child is suspected to have died of malaria. Uganda already hosts more than 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers, over 60 percent of whom are from DRC.
