On Thursday 22/06 Belgian Minister for Development Alexander De Croo visited the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in Northern Uganda. Since the South-Sudanese conflict erupted in July 2016, Uganda has taken in 900.000 of its refugees. Bidi Bidi now hosts 270.000 people fleeing violence and hunger in South-Sudan, making it the 2nd largest settlement in the world after Syria. The Ugandan refugee policy is a particularly compassionate one, granting migrants land to build a home and the right to travel and work. Minister De Croo was impressed by the countries’ efforts, stating that “In Uganda refugees get a chance to rebuild their lives”.    

The nexus between development and humanitarian response
BTC is one of the three partners implementing a 4-year Support Programme for Refugee Settlements in Northern Uganda , a 20 million Euro programme funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF). Throughout Uganda, BTC and the MOES are jointly implementing the Support to Skilling Uganda (SSU) project, which aims at making technical and vocational training more relevant for the local economic setting and more accessible. Within the EUTF funded programme in Northern Uganda, this means adapting skills development & entrepreneurship training to the needs of the refugee settlements and host communities. Finding its space in the nexus between development and the humanitarian response, SSU seeks to improve the quality and standardization of trainings by adapting the national Skilling Uganda approach to the specific skills needs of the refugee & host communities. Through the Skills Development Fund, SSU stimulates bottom-up joint ventures that provide vocational training and entrepreneurship support by partnering up with training providers, NGOs and the local private sector.  

During his visit, Minister De Croo visited pilot short-term trainings in soap making and hand water pump maintenance, supporting 30 women and girls selected in partnership with CEFORD, a community based organization, and 15 youth from the refugee and host communities.   “

"This is the way to go”
For the most vulnerable, trainings are allocated via a voucher scheme of ‘instant trainings’ that supports livelihood and income generating activities for youth, women and girls of the refugees and host communities. The voucher scheme breaks down skills provision into its smallest possible form, hereby addressing humanitarian concerns through a development approach. Minister De Croo officially stated that “During my visit to the north of Uganda, I visited Belgian funded skilling projects strengthening the resilience of both South Sudanese refugees and host communities. Given the numerous protracted conflicts in the world, I am convinced this is the way to go.”