Danish TV Collection raising funds for Uganda.
What you need to know:
Uganda is Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country. According to UNHCR Uganda was hosting over 1.5 million refugees and was the fourth-largest refugee-hosting country in the world at the beginning of 2023.
9 out of 10 refugees live in settlements alongside their Ugandan hosts in areas that are among the most underdeveloped in the country.
The majority of those living in settlements are women and children who are facing substantial challenges in accessing food, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children.
Poverty is endemic and food insecurity extensive. Most refugees only eat one meal per day.
In November two prominent Danish TV personalities visited Uganda in a move to raise funds to assist women and children among Ugandan host communities and refugees in West Nile and ensure they have enough food to eat.
“When you travel as a journalist, you also travel as a human being. I have traveled to many places in the world, and I've met many wonderful people in many different situations. Yet, nothing I have seen compares to this situation. This experience has profoundly shaped my understanding of refugee life – and how the influx of refugees affects Ugandans in the areas where refugees are.” says Johannes Langkilde a popular presenter at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and one of two hosts at the biggest national TV collection in Denmark – Danmarks Indsamling – that will take place in February 2024.
TV Collection brings the humanitarian community together
Every year since 2007 the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and 12 Danish humanitarian organisations have come together to raise funds and awareness about places in the world where help is needed the most in order to attain the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The culmination is a large TV collection for one night where Danes – ordinary people as well as businesses – can donate funds for one or more projects around the world.
Food security in focus
In 2024 the focus is on food security – and Uganda has been selected to provide the main backdrop for the TV collection. Therefore, two prominent presenters from DR, Johannes Langkilde and Josefine Høeg, traveled with a TV crew to Uganda to meet and interact with refugees as well as Ugandans living in the West Nile region where the local population have gotten company of a large number of refugees primarily from Sudan, South Sudan, and DR Congo.
Josefine Høgh, a versatile presenter whose face is especially familiar to all sports-loving Danes, expressed how the visit shaped her view of Uganda – and how she was inspired by the resilience of the people she met to find hope even in difficult situations.
“I was surprised to see how challenging life can be for refugees in Uganda. But even though it's hard, I think there's also hope. This visit has strengthened my belief in the importance of supporting people in West Nile through Danmarks Indsamling (the TV Collection, ed).”
DanChurchAid brings TV Collection to Uganda – and vice versa
One of the 12 Danish organisations in the TV Collection is DanChurchAid – an organisation with a long presence in Uganda. For 2024 DanChurchAid proposed a project in West Nile – which drew the attention of the organisers and led to the trip in November.
Through the project DanChurchAid will focus on increasing knowledge about and access to healthy and nutritious food and stimulate food production among refugees and Ugandan farmers in West Nile to make sure people have enough to eat and that they eat healthy and nutritious food. The project will be implemented in and around three camps and will target 10,000 refugees and Ugandans in host communities. The project will kick off in 2024 and is expected to run for four years.
Food is a necessity – and a right
“It is the right of every child in this world to have food. It's difficult when you see children of your children’s age hungry. I never expected children living in such uncertain conditions to have the energy to dance, let alone smile. Their boundless energy and kind demeanor captivated me. That moment will forever remain in my memory.," said Johannes Langkilde.
According to DanChurchAid’s Country Director in Uganda Anders Bastholm Hansen Uganda’s refugee policy has rendered positive results in many places where both Ugandans and refugeees in the host communities achieve a level of self-sufficiency – but that more assistance is needed.
“We must remember that others continue to rely on external support. As DanChurchAid we are happy to get the opportunity to help a sizeable number of the most vulnerable refugees and Ugandans in West Nile – and also to create awareness through the TV exposure that the Danish TV Collection creates.”
The TV Collection – and the segments from Uganda – will air on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) on 3 February 2024. The show is five hours long.
About DanChurchAid (DCA)
DanChurchAid supports poor communities in Uganda with humanitarian and long-term development assistance, working in areas with increasing levels of inequality and exclusion based on income, geography, gender, age, and displacement.
DanChurchAid works closely with local organisations and government structures at different levels, alongside direct or self-implementation in humanitarian response.
DanChurchAid works in the humanitarian development nexus and introduces cash-based interventions as well as appropriate technologies and digital solutions to address the vulnerability.
DanChurchAid builds local capacity and supports innovative livelihoods including access to land and climate change adaptation.
DanChurchAid protects and restores natural resources and helps supply clean and environmentally friendly energy.
DanChurchAid fights for gender equality, transparency, and social accountability.
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