By Anzoo Evaline.

Youths in Adjumani District are beginning to transform their lives through skills, training, and financial opportunities provided under the Uganda Refugee Resilience Initiative (URRI) project, a multi-partner program aimed at strengthening livelihoods among both refugees and host communities.

Noel Alabi, Program Manager of World Vision overseeing Adjumani and Lamwo districts, highlighted the organization’s role in driving sustainable change.

“As World Vision, we bring expertise and lead the implementation of the climate smart agriculture component together with the sustainable management of the environment and natural resources. Those two components we deliver together with YSAT. So, we have so far delivered one year of this program,” Alabi said.

Alabi added: “After finalizing the first year, we see positive signs of transformation already starting to happen with the participants, especially in the areas of financial inclusion, sustainable climate smart agriculture where the farmers are starting to replicate the climate smart practices, but also in the areas of gender, especially joint planning and decision making at family and group level.”

For many young beneficiaries, the project has been life-changing.

Brenda Pasi, a participant from Ofua Sub County, shared her journey.

“Through the support I got from Royal Embassy. When I joined group through URRI, they gave us many trainings. This made me to set up my own garden where I plant vegetables like egg plants, tomatoes. I sold them and when I sold them, I use the money to pay my school fees and buying scholastic materials. And I even bought goat last year from the money I made from vegetable. I got 500,000 and this year I’m having 600.000 in my account. And the money that I got from vegetables, I’m able to buy an oven where I bake different kind of breads like queen cakes, kababs, and other type of breads,” Pasi said.

Another beneficiary, Maridio Oliver, emphasized the importance of financial access in improving livelihoods.

“I got a loan. And we want to thank the government of Denmark embassy who are supporting us and we want more support from them so that the young ones who cannot access money can also help themselves,” Maridio said.

However, leaders note that challenges remain, particularly in balancing support between refugees and host communities.

Abdul Ramadan, the Settlement Commandant in Adjumani District, explained.

“The issue of refugees is getting 35% the host communities are getting 65% but when you look at the population of the refugees and the host communities, we almost going past the number of the host communities as refugees. So, to me the intervention should be 50-50 so that we shall have no issues on ground the peaceful existence will be spread out,” Abdul said.

Abdul added: “Then issue of food reduction for the refugees. Has impacted greatly in the lives of the refugees. Good number of them, they are not getting food assistance. They struggle for their own food, their own livelihood. But sometimes they are limited with the resources. They cannot be able to get land, to hire land, no money for hiring the land. They want to do business; the market is not there. You know, it’s a lot of issues down there that we need to really help all our refugees. If they are empowered, they will be standing on their own and support themselves.”

Government representatives have also called for continued collaboration to close existing gaps.

Obumai Simon Peter, Assistant Resident District Commissioner of Adjumani, said: “If there are other opportunities, because the gaps have been identified and you are no longer now friends but brothers continue to support your brothers. It’s not that the government is doing nothing. We are doing what we can. But because of the open little policy which also has its challenges, more refugees are still coming. The NURI and the Uri project are addressing some of those gaps. We are receiving new arrivals. So, some of these things are to address people who have just come, the ones who missed the NURI and now they are benefiting from.”

Despite the challenges, the URRI project continues to offer hope, equipping young people in Adjumani with practical skills, financial knowledge, and opportunities to become self-reliant. As more youths embrace climate-smart agriculture and entrepreneurship, the district is witnessing the early signs of a more resilient and empowered generation.

END.