• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

WE FIGHT FOR EVERY CHILD

  • Latest news
  • Contact us
  • My new icon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Chance for Childhood HomepageChance for Childhood

We fight for every child

  • About us
    • Our Team
      • Our Staff
      • Our Trustees
      • Our Patrons And Ambassadors
      • Technical Advisors
    • Our Finances
    • Our History
    • Current Jobs
  • Our Work
    • Our Impact
    • East Africa
    • West Africa
    • #OverExposed
  • Get Involved
    • Corporate Partners
    • Funding Partners & Grant Makers
    • London Marathon
    • Give In Your Will
      • Donate In Memory
  • Donate
LATEST NEWS

“What is peaceful about living on one meal a day?”: Marie fled war in search of safety

16 July 2021

Every week hundreds of women like Marie arrive in Uganda’s vast refugee settlements. They have fled horrific violence in their home country of DRC. But life in the settlements is a constant struggle to survive. Housing is cramped. Food is in short supply. In these conditions many women are forced to commit petty crimes, like stealing food, just to stop their children from starving.

Marie’s Story

“North Kivu was the place I called home. My husband and I ran a health clinic. We dedicated our time to everyone who needed help, regardless of who they were or where they were from.

But when war broke out in 2012, we were targeted. Angry at us for providing healthcare to members of different tribes, my husband was killed. And my daughter and I were violently raped by armed men. All of our possessions were looted.

With thousands of others, I fled to Uganda with my six children.”

“We arrived in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. I hoped we could live a peaceful life. But shortly after we arrived, my 17-year-old daughter vanished without a trace. Her disappearance haunts me to this day. I feel like I have failed her. Nothing can fill the void she left in my life. I don’t know if she is dead or alive.

I hope within my heart that she is somewhere out there in the world. And I refuse to mourn her. One day, I believe life will bring my daughter back to me.”

In search of shelter and safety, Marie moved her family to one of Uganda’s refugee settlements, Kyaka II, where they hoped for a better life.

But life in the settlement is tough. Three in five women have faced domestic violence. A lack of food, poor housing and stretched services mean that every day is a fight for survival.

“The only positive thing about living in the settlement is knowing that you won’t be robbed or raped by armed men. It is peaceful here.

But what is peace without decent housing? What is peaceful about living on one meal a day? What is peaceful about depending on handouts and living from hand to mouth?”

The pandemic has made life so much harder for refugees. Food rations to refugees were cut by a third last year. Women and children must survive on maize flour and beans. But the rations now amount to little over 1,000 calories a day. Adults like Marie face constant hunger, living on just one meal a day.

In these conditions, refugee women end up breaking the law to survive. But when they’re caught, they’re punished harshly. After risking everything, women face horrendous conditions in prison.

If you get legal support, you’re one of the lucky ones. 75% don’t. And in the cells, you’ll face constant hunger. Like on the outside, there’s a lack of food to go round. With poor sanitation and overcrowding, violence is everywhere.

By the time women are released, they’ve suffered more horrendous trauma. With no support to build a better life, they become trapped in the cycle of poverty, violence and prison.

But your support is helping women at risk of breaking the law to survive. Women like Marie.

“I don’t think I will ever fully overcome my traumatic experiences. But I have learnt to cope with knowing what I went through, thanks to the psychological support from the team at AWYAD (Our partner in Uganda).”

“Now, I volunteer as a gender-based victims’ protection officer with AWYAD. My role focuses on encouraging women in abusive relationships to speak up. I know the impacts of gender-based violence only too well. It is why I try to protect women here, because they listen to me and look up to me.

We also do tailoring and beadwork to earn some extra money, which helps me to look after my five children’s needs. My earnings aren’t much, but I can use them to improve our circumstances a little bit.”

Your support is changing lives for women like Marie! Because of you, they can access psychosocial support to overcome trauma and vocational training to earn money to feed their children. With this critical support, they’re less likely to end up committing crimes of survival.

Your support is essential in providing help to women inside prison too. Women receive life-changing vocational training, anger management and life-skills classes. This means when they leave prison, they are empowered to build a better life for them and their family!

With Penal Reform International, we’re training police, prison officers, lawyers and community leaders to support women and children who have experienced violence and trauma. Your donations are creating a legacy of change, so women no longer have to face horrific conditions in the criminal justice system.

£30 could train a community caseworker in psycho-social care, to support vulnerable children and families who have faced war and violence. Will you please make a donation today to support women like Marie?

Donate

Images copyright Arete/ Kibuuka Mukisa on behalf of Chance for Childhood

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Email
We fight for every child Donate now

Footer

Get our emails

Stay connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Get in touch

01483 230 250


Safeguarding

If you have concerns about a Safeguarding or Child Protection issue, or would like to speak to us about a concern please contact:

Useful links

Our promise to you

Global safeguarding policy

Terms & conditions

Privacy and cookies policy

Complaints policy

Jobs

Gift Shop

Fundraising Regulator logo

Registered address: 3 Fairfields, 26 Green Lane, Cobham, KT11 2NN.
Correspondence address: Chance for Childhood, PO Box 3030, Romford, RM7 1US.
Charity registered in England & Wales no. 1013587. © 2021 Chance for Childhood

We use cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device. Privacy & Cookies policy ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT