The Stories of Refugees Fleeing the DRC

“I used to be a dressmaker. I would love to get back to dressmaking here, but I have no equipment, I lost everything when I fled. At least here, there is peace. I hope we will be able to rebuild our lives and my children can have a better future.” she says, only a few hours after their arrival in Uganda.

Bana landed in the small fishing village of Sebagoro in Uganda on a Tuesday morning. As many other refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, she fled from her home country by boat across Lake Albert, which separates the two countries.

Several months ago, before the war began, her husband moved to Uganda to find a job. At that time, she could not follow him because she was heavily pregnant, and as such she stayed behind in their village. But when fighting broke out close to her village and the situation became too dangerous, she decided to leave with her four children aged between 2 months to 6 years.
“I don’t want to go back to DRC, it’s too dangerous, I saw too many horrible things. Life is tough here, and I miss my family, but I’m safe.”

As thousands of other refugees of the Kyangwali camp in Uganda, Jackson, 28, has a heart-breaking story.

Just a few months ago, before fighting in his home town broke out, Jackson was living in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with his wife and their two-year-old daughter. After graduating from university, he was preparing to become a professor. But the war changed everything.

His village was attacked in the middle of the night by armed men. During flight, he lost sight of his wife and daughter. He arrived in Uganda after crossing Lake Albert three weeks ago. Since then, he has not heard of them and has no means to reach them. He hopes that they too were able to flee and that he will be able to find them.

He would like to find a job in Uganda, but to become a teacher he must speak English. Jackson has started to take language classes in the camp, but he has a long way to go.
“I understand their problems and I know their difficulties. Most are traumatized by what they saw. They heard of horrible things that no child should never hear. I experienced it myself, and I use my experience to help them the best I can.”

Access to education is a major problem for refugee children in Uganda. Forced to leave everything behind, families rarely have the means to send their children to school, and for those who can, conditions are far from ideal.

In Kyangwali refugee settlement in Uganda, schools are overcrowded, with around 100 students per teacher on average. Bernard himself teaches almost children in his first grade class. Large gaps between the students exist and most do not speak English, the language used in class. Despite these hurdles, Benard does not despair and tries to do his best to help his students. Their story is strangely similar to his as Bernard is a refugee himself and arrived from Sudan with his parents years ago.

Learn more about CARE's work in the DRC and Uganda.