June 2021 Refugee Report
Wonderful news! The Rotary grant to purchase a grain mill for each settlement plus a delivery vehicle was approved. This will mean new co-operative businesses in each settlement, savings for every family on the cost of milling their grain, and a new source of cash income for the co-op members. Also, women will be running a business, learning new skills and accumulating capital which they will invest in their families and communities.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment is the continuation and expansion of the peacebuilding work. In the past this was done by convening large groups of refugees and local hosts in trainings and small group workshops. This was impossible in June because Covid restrictions resulted in a ban on such large gatherings. The leaders responded by holding multiple small group trainings and discussions in outdoor venues throughout the month.
The other creative response to the lockdown was to develop a new model for goat keeping. In the past, goats had been a source of conflict as they often ate the crops of neighbors, and fighting often ensued between the goat keepers and gardeners. The creative solution developed by leaders of the refugee and local communities together was to require that only women trained and experienced as peacebuilders would qualify to keep any of the 20 goats newly purchased with SSLCD funds. The results have been remarkable. The women in both settlements are elated that since the goats were purchased at the beginning of the month, only a few minor incidents of conflict occurred, and these were quickly settled without resort to violence. Goat keeping is now recognized as a peace-building activity rather than a source of conflict and fighting.
The tremendous amount of work put into the gardens during May had mixed results. In the Mungula settlement, rain was plentiful and the maize crop and others crops are growing very well (see background of the two pictures attached). Unfortunately, in Olua, barely 20 miles distant, there was severe drought so that the entire maize crop was lost and is now being replanted. Fortunately the beans and sorghum survived the drought.
The major challenge facing the refugees in July will be the increased threat of Covid and the resultant lock-down preventing nearly all travel and even delivery of needed supplies and food. This challenge is daunting indeed, but based on past experience with similar challenges, we remain confident that leaders of Mungula and Olua will find ways to meet them and move forward.