For most of the world’s displaced women and girls, crossing into a safe country is not the end of their struggle, but the beginning of another. Having fled unimaginable horrors – war, violence, and persecution – they face new challenges on arrival, often lacking access to basic rights such as healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
In Uganda, one of Africa’s leading countries for receiving refugees, organisations such as ActionAid play a vital role in supporting displaced women and girls as they navigate these difficulties. Led by Mercy Grace Munduru, head of Programmes and Fundraising, ActionAid Uganda, the chairty’s efforts go far beyond basic relief. It works with women and girls to rebuild their lives, fostering resilience in the face of extraordinary adversity.
ActionAid operates in two major refugee settlements in Uganda: Imvepi and Kiryandongo. Imvepi is located in the West Nile sub-region – one of Uganda’s poorest – which hosts more than 784,000 refugees, the largest refugee population in the country. These refugees, mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, face unique challenges due to the scale of displacement and the region’s existing vulnerabilities.
The Imvepi refugee settlement
In Uganda, the refugee population is overwhelmingly female. About 70% of refugees in these settlements are women and children, many arriving with deep trauma. Munduru explains that a large number of these women live in women-headed households, with little access to essential services such as healthcare, education and employment. Navigating sexual and reproductive health is particularly precarious, as they face language barriers, unfamiliar systems, and often hostile environments.
Gender-based violence is a harsh reality for many displaced women and girls. To address this, ActionAid has partnered with local women-led organisations to create safe spaces within the refugee settlements, where women can begin the healing process. These centres offer legal aid, psychosocial support, and dignity kits containing essential items to help maintain health and hygiene.
ActionAid’s approach to trauma healing is survivor-centred, emphasising conflict-sensitive, trauma-informed care. Women and girls are grouped by age, enabling them to connect with peers who share similar experiences. Some survivors are trained as mentors, helping others in their healing journey. “They’ve become trainers themselves,” says Munduru, describing how this peer-led model creates a ripple effect, with women passing on their knowledge to new arrivals.
Clockwise from top left: Suya, Eva and Hellen, women who sought refuge in Uganda from South Sudan; Anna, an ActionAid consultant on sexual gender-based violence and child protection; young girls in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement taking part in a workshop where they learn how to make reusable pads
This trauma-healing work isn’t confined to the camps. ActionAid also connects survivors with Ugandan women who have lived through their own conflicts, including those abducted or forced into child marriages. Sharing stories and coping mechanisms across these groups fosters resilience and promotes healing.
Education is a key pillar of ActionAid’s support for displaced women and the organisation provides both literacy training and vocational-skills training to help women and girls regain control over their futures. These programmes not only improve literacy rates but also challenge harmful social norms that have historically restricted women’s access to education.
ActionAid works closely with community stakeholders to develop these learning programmes to make sure they are tailored to the specific needs of refugee populations. This ensures displaced women develop the academic skills and practical expertise they need to survive and thrive.
Gloria holding a batch of soap she produced
For example, through agricultural training, women in West Nile have learned to grow crops and sell surplus produce, turning small plots of land into sustainable livelihoods. This initiative helps women gain independence and contribute financially to their families and communities.
Another powerful success story comes from Gloria, a refugee in the Imvepi settlement. After receiving leadership training from ActionAid, Gloria ran for and was elected as a zone leader in her community. She has since started a soap-making business and now employs seven other women. “Through her leadership and entrepreneurship, Gloria not only supports her own family but also creates opportunities for others in her community,” says Munduru.
Clockwise from top: an ActionAid consultant with a farmer tending to crops; a workshop on how to make reusable pads
Another critical part of ActionAid’s remit is working alongside displaced women and girls to advocate for their rights. Munduru explains that the organisation equips them with the skills to fight for the services they deserve and hold governments accountable for providing them. This advocacy work is already yielding results. After two years of intensive campaigning, West Nile was finally connected to Uganda’s national electricity grid in August, an achievement that will significantly improve economic opportunities for the region’s refugees, according to Munduru. “Access to electricity opens the door for social enterprises, vocational training, and other essential services.”
Munduru is full of hope for the future of displaced women and girls in Uganda. “Uganda has one of the most progressive policy frameworks for refugees,” she says. “Even with the influx of refugees, there are policies that allow them to find their feet in our country.” Her vision is for women to become more empowered than when they arrived in Uganda, equipped with the skills and confidence to rebuild their lives, whether they stay in the country or return home.
Doreen (in pink top), meeting with a group of women’s rights advocates in the Imvepi settlement
She says a poignant moment in her work came at a recent national climate justice symposium, where a refugee female leader stood before an audience to tell her story. “The room – filled with media, academics and young people – broke into tears,” Munduru recalls. “Yet the woman stood tall and proud, an embodiment of the resilience that ActionAid seeks to foster.”
This is the ultimate goal for both Munduru and ActionAid: to give displaced women and girls access to the resources that empower them not only to survive but to thrive, ensuring that their journeys, though fraught with challenges, can lead to futures filled with possibility.
Support ActionAid
To learn more about the work being done by ActionAid to support displaced women and girls around the world who are overcoming life-changing challenges, visit actionaid.org.uk
ActionAid is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and committed to the highest standards in fundraising. Registered charity: 274467
