Our Story

Context:

For nearly 3 decades, the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been devastated by political instability, armed conflict, sexual violence and widespread human rights violations. Today, the DRC faces one of the most protracted global crises with 4.5 million internally displaced persons and over 800,000 refugees residing in neighboring countries. 

The UNHCR Nyakabande Transit Camp is located in Nyakabande, Uganda, a small town in southwestern Uganda, near the border of the DRC. In 1994, the UNHCR Nyakabande Transit Camp opened to respond to Rwandans fleeing genocide, and in 2012, the camp became a transit point for persons fleeing conflict from primarily the DRC. UNHCR refugee transit camps are temporary, short-term shelters available near some conflict zones – often just across the international border. Refugee transit camps are a life-saving measure with the primary objective to protect those fleeing war or persecution. Their services are targeted to basic needs and protection in the initial days of displacement to a new country, and the limited resources and staffing of transit camp organizations reflect these mandates. 

Although transit camps are intended as two- to five-day shelter (UNHCR, 2015) for newly registered refugees, refugees may (and commonly do) remain for weeks and occasionally longer. Tasked with protection and meeting basic needs, refugee transit camps have historically not provided identified mental health and psychosocial services – or the services that are provided seem to be very limited and focused on extreme psychiatric cases.

History of Friends of Kisoro:

In 2016, the Kisoro District Hospital, located 6 kilometers from the Nyakabande Transit Centre, began seeing an influx of refugees coming from the transit camp seeking psychological services. In response, a group of concerned community members from Kisoro partnered with international volunteers, the Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to address the growing need for comprehensive psychosocial support for the acutely displaced refugees at the UNHCR Transit Center in Nyakabande. In January 2017, Noriyuki and Nancy Murakami founded Friends of Kisoro (FROK) and in August 2017, FROK started its Psychosocial Support Program in the Nyakabande transit camp to promote the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of refugees.