Sonia, ARC Protection Officer, works in Nakivale keeping women and families safe. Over her years of working in Nakivale, she has met amazing individuals and has gotten to know the community. But, her job can also be really tough. She meets women who are facing all kinds of unsafe situations in their own homes – domestic violence and abuse. If they find themselves in an unresolved violent situation, she helps them to move to a new home within the settlement and feel secure again. It’s no small feat.
When a family first enters the settlement, they receive a package of items to help them begin again – a hoe to plant their garden, blankets, cooking pots, plastic sheeting to help build their home. But, when someone is forced to leave their home to move within the settlement, these items are left behind.
So, Sonia’s idea is to put together transition kits. “It’s a way to help someone who has been forced from their home,” says Sonia, ARC Protection Officer as she explains her idea to us. “Imagine that they’ve had to leave everything – once again.”
The kit includes some of essential items needed for a home here in Nakivale – a washbasin, cooking pans, plates, cups, plastic sheeting, soap and blanket to name a few.
“It can give them hope,” says Sonia. So much more than household items, the kit is a gesture to help someone rebuild, at a time when they need it most.
This change made possible by Cresa.
