Refugees want empowerment, not handouts | Robert Hakiza

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 a 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 their host country.

I was born in the city called Bukavu,

South Kivu,

in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I am the 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 steady 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 their recognition by UNHCR in 1997.

In addition to the poverty problem we were confronted with

as the local urban poor,

we were facing challenges due to our refugee status,

such as a 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 areas,

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

and 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 sell wares.

The vocational training program offers livelihood skills,

and 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,

it has 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)