WEBVTT

00:00:00.809 --> 00:00:05.905
Currently, most refugees
live in the cities

00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.129
rather than in the refugee camps.

00:00:10.133 --> 00:00:13.958
We represent over 60 percent

00:00:13.982 --> 00:00:17.074
of the number of refugees globally.

00:00:19.442 --> 00:00:23.233
With the majority of refugees
living in urban areas,

00:00:24.617 --> 00:00:28.982
there is a strong need
for a paradigm shift and new thinking.

00:00:31.363 --> 00:00:35.986
Rather than wasting money
on building walls,

00:00:37.668 --> 00:00:41.688
it would be better to spend on programs

00:00:41.712 --> 00:00:43.970
to help refugees to help themselves.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:43.994 --> 00:00:49.997
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:50.736 --> 00:00:55.759
We always have to leave behind
all our possessions.

00:00:56.940 --> 00:00:59.073
But not our skills and knowledge.

00:01:01.352 --> 00:01:04.716
If allowed to live a productive life,

00:01:05.641 --> 00:01:08.585
refugees can help themselves

00:01:08.609 --> 00:01:12.275
and contribute to the development
of their host country.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:14.748 --> 00:01:17.858
I was born in the city called Bukavu,

00:01:17.882 --> 00:01:19.683
South Kivu,

00:01:19.707 --> 00:01:22.069
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:26.895
I am the fifth-born
in a family of 12 children.

00:01:28.723 --> 00:01:32.891
My father, a mechanic by profession,

00:01:32.915 --> 00:01:35.680
worked very hard to send me to school.

00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:39.909
Just like other young people,

00:01:40.995 --> 00:01:43.288
I had a lot of plans and dreams.

00:01:44.756 --> 00:01:46.870
I wanted to complete my studies,

00:01:47.616 --> 00:01:48.948
get a nice job,

00:01:49.554 --> 00:01:52.331
marry and have my own children

00:01:52.355 --> 00:01:53.822
and support my family.

00:01:55.124 --> 00:01:57.434
But this didn't happen.

00:01:59.871 --> 00:02:06.522
War in my homeland forced me
to flee to Uganda in 2008,

00:02:06.546 --> 00:02:08.354
nine years ago.

00:02:10.085 --> 00:02:15.276
My family joined
a steady exodus of refugees

00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:18.052
who settled in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

00:02:20.147 --> 00:02:21.593
In my country,

00:02:23.038 --> 00:02:24.815
I lived already in the city,

00:02:25.839 --> 00:02:30.592
and we felt Kampala was much better
than a refugee camp.

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:34.046 --> 00:02:36.696
Refugees in the cities

00:02:36.720 --> 00:02:40.616
have always been denied
international assistance,

00:02:42.322 --> 00:02:47.701
even after their recognition
by UNHCR in 1997.

00:02:49.157 --> 00:02:55.442
In addition to the poverty problem
we were confronted with

00:02:55.466 --> 00:02:57.467
as the local urban poor,

00:02:58.546 --> 00:03:02.275
we were facing challenges
due to our refugee status,

00:03:02.299 --> 00:03:04.386
such as a language barrier.

00:03:05.315 --> 00:03:08.766
In Congo, the official language is French.

00:03:09.592 --> 00:03:12.234
But in Uganda, it is English.

00:03:13.282 --> 00:03:16.416
We didn't have access
to education and health.

00:03:17.427 --> 00:03:21.410
We were exposed to harassment,

00:03:21.434 --> 00:03:25.495
exploitation, intimidation
and discrimination.

00:03:27.308 --> 00:03:31.439
Humanitarian organizations mostly focused

00:03:31.463 --> 00:03:34.218
on the formal settlement in rural areas,

00:03:34.998 --> 00:03:37.779
and there was nothing in place for us.

00:03:40.529 --> 00:03:43.266
But we didn't want handouts.

00:03:44.148 --> 00:03:47.108
We wanted to work and support ourselves.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:48.752 --> 00:03:52.069
I joined my other two colleagues in exile

00:03:52.093 --> 00:03:55.211
and set up an organization
to support other refugees.

00:03:56.655 --> 00:04:01.268
YARID -- Young African Refugees
for Integral Development --

00:04:01.935 --> 00:04:05.991
began as a conversation
within the Congolese community.

00:04:07.585 --> 00:04:09.743
We asked the community

00:04:09.767 --> 00:04:14.102
how they could organize themselves
to solve these challenges.

00:04:15.514 --> 00:04:19.737
The YARID programs for support
evolve in stages,

00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:25.624
progressing from soccer community,
to English language

00:04:25.648 --> 00:04:27.965
to sewing livelihoods.

00:04:29.655 --> 00:04:34.245
The soccer changed the energy

00:04:34.269 --> 00:04:36.569
of unemployed youth

00:04:36.593 --> 00:04:40.031
and connected people
from different communities.

00:04:41.173 --> 00:04:43.260
The free English classes

00:04:43.284 --> 00:04:47.791
help empower people to engage
with the Ugandan community,

00:04:47.815 --> 00:04:51.974
allowing them to get to know
their neighbors and sell wares.

00:04:53.584 --> 00:04:58.982
The vocational training program
offers livelihood skills,

00:04:59.006 --> 00:05:03.434
and with them, important opportunities
for economic self-reliance.

00:05:04.101 --> 00:05:08.204
We've seen so many families

00:05:08.228 --> 00:05:10.680
become self-sustaining.

00:05:11.698 --> 00:05:14.835
We've seen who no longer needs our help.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:16.690 --> 00:05:20.892
As YARID's programs have expanded,

00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:25.914
it has included an increasing
range of nationalities --

00:05:27.093 --> 00:05:31.071
Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian,

00:05:31.942 --> 00:05:34.482
Somalis, Ethiopian, South Sudanese.

00:05:35.347 --> 00:05:40.930
Today, YARID has supported
over 3,000 refugees across Kampala

00:05:41.671 --> 00:05:43.326
and continues supporting more.

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:47.950
(Applause)

NOTE Paragraph

00:05:47.974 --> 00:05:53.041
Refugees want empowerment, not handouts.

00:05:54.006 --> 00:05:56.966
We know our community better than anyone.

00:05:58.173 --> 00:06:02.998
We understand the challenges
and opportunities we face

00:06:03.022 --> 00:06:04.555
to become self-reliant.

00:06:05.683 --> 00:06:08.579
I know better than anyone

00:06:08.603 --> 00:06:12.126
that initiatives created by refugees work.

00:06:12.770 --> 00:06:16.637
They need to be internationally
recognized and supported.

00:06:17.624 --> 00:06:20.451
Give us the support we deserve,

00:06:20.475 --> 00:06:22.855
and we will pay you back with interest.

NOTE Paragraph

00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:24.219
Thank you so much.

NOTE Paragraph

00:06:24.243 --> 00:06:31.047
(Applause)