Refugees call for policies to improve their quality of life

The Refugee Law Project has implored the government to provide policies that will help to sustain refugees in their respective camps.

The call was made during the 6th Regional Conference on Forced Migration in Kampala that sought to come to grips with debate on access to tertiary education for forced migration.

Local integration is one of the durable solutions that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and other partners are promoting to ensure public access of refugees to information and protection to fundamental freedoms in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

The director of programs at Windle International Uganda Robert Bahenyangi challenged the government and its partners to inject more funds in the education sector in refugee settlements at Nakivale in Isingiro and at Kiryandongo districts.

"These refugees need to be educated, provided with medical attention and security, but the key is the education where they need to learn English as the official language," Bahenyanji said.

A refugee at Clark International University Hamda Awil Raabi said many refugees lack mentorship and people they can talk to for social support, urging government and it's partners to invest in this aspect.

"A lot of my colleagues face challenges of depression, because they lack mentorship classes and the people they can talk to frequently" Rabbi said.

A refugee student studying at Bugema University Nelly Havarimana noted that a lot of refugees face language barriers which hinder communication with other students. This also affects their adaptation to technology.