SUPPORT VULNERABLE DISPLACED PEOPLE FROM CONGO

About 300 refugees have been registered through the churches along the Uganda Congo Boarder in the North Western Region of Uganda. A number of displaced people from the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) fear to be identified because of stigma of being a refugee. When refugees are identified by Government officials, they get relocated to the gazzetated refugee camps. Most of the displaced people prefer to stay within the host communities so that they can move to and from their original places. Refugee camps have limited food supplies as opposed to host communities who often engage the refugees in labour based contracts in gardens and the income they earn helps them to buy food. Getting them registered through the churches helps us to train them in income generation skills. Most of these skills focus on vegetable growing and micro irrigation that gives them a more sustainable food and income. Their registartion also helps us to provide a more dedicated healthcare services whereby they can easily be refered for more specialized care when the need arises. It also helps us to get the children registered to attend nearby schools so as to avoid being idle and get engaged in child labour. The church leaders also help us in continous education of displaced people about the dangers of human trafficking and how they should avoid getting engaged with people who are likely to be part of the cartel on human trafficking. 

Over 1,000 people were educated on mental health issues in the internally displaced camps in Democratic republic of Congo (DRC). Mental health is one of the major problems faced by the internally displaced people because of many factors that include lack of food, domestic violence rape, loss of close relatives and many other issues. General education is given about mental health whereby individuals with specific challenges are identified for counselling and further management. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience a heightened risk of mental health issues due to the trauma of displacement and the challenging conditions of displacement settings. Common mental health problems among IDPs include depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These issues are often exacerbated by factors like exposure to violence, food insecurity, and the length of time spent in displacement. 

 Large-scale population displacement often arises from conflicts and natural disasters due to environmental degradation, political persecution, or economic hardships . In contrast to refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), or those who have been forced to leave their homes but are still inside their country’s borders, face particular difficulties since they are unlikely to receive the same level of aid from international organisations unless their home country specifically requests it . The consequences of violent conflicts, wars, and displacement events are well-documented, leading to complex humanitarian crises with profound impacts on the well-being of affected populations . These impacts manifest both directly, through violence and physical harm, and indirectly, resulting in increased rates of infectious diseases and malnutrition.