Refugees want empowerment, not handouts

Currently, most refugees
live in the cities

rather than in the refugee camps.

We represent over 60 percent

of the number of refugees globally.

With the majority of refugees
living in urban areas,

there is a strong need
for paradigm shift and new thinking.

Rather than wasting money
on building walls,

it would be better to spend on programs

to help refugees to help themselves.

(Applause)

We always have to leave behind
all our possessions.

But not our skills and knowledge.

If allowed to live a productive life,

refugees can help themselves

and contribute to the development
of the host country.

I was born in the city called Bukavu,

South Kivu,

in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I am a fifth-born
in a family of 12 children.

My father, a mechanic by profession,

worked very hard to send me to school.

Just like other young people,

I had a lot of plans and dreams.

I wanted to complete my studies,

get a nice job,

marry and have my own children

and support my family.

But this didn't happen.

War in my homeland forced me
to flee to Uganda in 2008

nine years ago.

My family joined a [unclear] exodus
of refugees

who settled in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

In my country,

I lived already in the city

and we felt Kampala was much better
than a refugee camp.

Refugees in the cities

have always been denied
international assistance.

Even after the recognition
by UNHCR in 1997.

In addition to the poverty problem
we're confronted with

as the local urban poor,

we are facing challenges
due to our refugee status,

such as language barrier.

In Congo, the official language is French.

But in Uganda, it is English.

We didn't have access
to education and health.

We were exposed to harassment

exploitation, intimidation
and discrimination.

Humanitarian organizations mostly focused

on the formal settlement in rural area

and there was nothing in place for us.

But we didn't want handouts.

We wanted to work and support ourselves.

I joined my other two colleagues in exile,

set up an organization
to support other refugees.

YARID -- Young African Refugees
for Integral Development --

began as a conversation
within the Congolese community.

We asked the community

how they could organize themselves
to solve these challenges.

The YARID programs for support
evolve in stages.

Progressing from soccer community,
to English language

to sewing livelihoods. ??

The soccer changed the energy

of unemployed youth

and connected people
from different communities.

The free English classes

help empower people to engage
with the Ugandan community,

allowing them to get to know
their neighbors and [unclear].

Vocational training program
offers livelihood skills

with them, important opportunities
for economic self-reliance.

We've seen so many families

become self-sustaining.

We've seen who no longer needs our help.

As YARID's programs have expanded,

they have included an increasing
range of nationalities --

Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian,

Somalis, Ethiopian, South Sudanese.

Today, YARID has supported
over 3,000 refugees across Kampala.

And continues supporting more.

(Applause)

Refugees want empowerment, not handouts.

We know our community better than anyone.

We understand the challenges
and opportunities we face

to become self-reliant.

I know better than anyone

that initiatives created by refugees work.

They need to be internationally
recognized and supported.

Give us the support we deserve

and we will pay you back with interest.

Thank you so much.

(Applause)