From hardship to hope: Cash plus skilling programme supports young refugees

 

Ida Merusa (not her real name) is a 16-year-old adolescent mother who suffered double jeopardy when she was defiled after fleeing armed conflict in her home country of South Sudan. She now lives as a refugee at Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda’s West Nile district of Terego.

“When I became pregnant after being defiled at the age of 15, I dropped out of  school. Life has been difficult for me, given that as an adolescent mother and a refugee, I am often denied rights such as access to education, job opportunities and basic needs for survival. It is a cycle of physical, psychological and emotional hardship, and you have to quickly adapt to the new environment you  find yourself in,” Merusa says while breastfeeding her one-year-and-one- month-old baby.Merusa is not alone.

Her newly found friend, Sarah Fatuma, a 19-year-old mother and a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, also dropped out of school while in the latter stages of secondary school at Imvepi Senior Secondary School.

“Life in a refugee settlement is quite challenging, especially for young girls,  because we can fall into the wrong peer groups. I used to loiter around markets and did not take my studies seriously, doing odd jobs to meet living costs and to support my family with essential supplies. That’s how I ended up pregnant and leaving school,” Fatuma recalls.

Merusa and Fatuma are among many adolescent mothers and child-led  households who fled armed conflict in their countries of origin and are rebuilding their lives at Imvepi Refugee Settlement.

Given their vulnerable situations, both young mothers faced harmful coping strategies for self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods. They engaged in income-generating activities and undertook domestic duties at a tender age to support their households. They had no choice but to leave school.

For these young mothers, after attending the mentorship and life skilling training, life has never been the same again. Fatuma already enrolled back to school and Merusa says she will join her friend to continue with her education next year at Impevi SS.

The cash and skilling training under the PROSPECTS Programme

The mentorship and life skilling training programme, implemented by UNICEF- Uganda is a multi-year strategic initiative funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands to empower young refugees and host community members in  eight countries that include Uganda, Egypt, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Jordan and  Ethiopia.

The programme focuses on skills development, including foundational learning and digital training, to help youth transition from education to employment. It provides access to life skills, financial literacy and pathways to education and livelihoods that enhance resilience and self-reliance.

 As part of the broader PROSPECTS initiative, UNICEF Uganda is supporting an unconditional cash transfer programme to support out-of-school adolescents and young people, with a specific focus on forcibly displaced persons and host communities in four refugee-hosting districts. The districts include Terego, Madi-Okollo, Isingiro, and Kampala for urban refugees.

This is because many forcibly displaced adolescents and young people like Maseru and Fatuma face heightened vulnerability due to displacement including disruption of education, family separation, exposure to violence and limited access to services. These challenges are further compounded for those with disabilities or from extremely poor households.

As a result, many forcibly displaced adolescents and young people are deprived of opportunities for education, skills development, mentorship, and protection. Participation in such programmes often carries a high opportunity cost, as adolescents and young people are expected to engage in income-generating activities or domestic responsibilities to support their households.

To address these barriers, Stella Ogalo, a Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF Uganda, explained that the social protection component of the PROSPECT programme provides direct financial support to adolescents and young people to offset the opportunity costs foregone, thereby enabling them to participate in life-skills training, mentorship and digital skilling offered, without sacrificing their immediate livelihoods.

 The project focuses on providing cash support to out-of-school adolescents and young people for six months. Each member of the cohort receives UGX 45,000 (US$12) per month, with the disabled beneficiaries receiving an additional 50 per cent top-up of UGX 22,500 (US$6) per month. The cash assistance is intended to bridge the burden of accessing skilling programmes provided by UNICEF and partners within the PROSPECTS framework funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Other skilling programs include digital skilling, vocation  skilling. i-UPSHIFT and entrepreneurship skilling.

“These adolescents have faced challenges such as transport, childcare (for those with children) and other household demands that affect their ability to participate in the skilling programme. Therefore, the cash provided is not meant to cover skilling costs but to enable these adolescents and young people  to access mentorship and other related opportunities,” Ogalo emphasized.

Stella Ogalo further stated that the programme also strengthens linkages to  other essential services such as child protection, education, psychosocial support and healthcare provided by the Ugandan Government through established local structures. Beneficiaries will be provided with information on  social protection systems in countries of return, helping to prepare adolescents and young people who may eventually choose to repatriate.

 “By promoting financial inclusion, enhancing self-reliance and preventing harmful coping mechanisms such as child labour and early marriages, the programme aims to improve the well-being of displaced and host communities and lay the groundwork for long-term resilience and sustainable livelihoods,”  she added.

 In line with the Refugee and Host Population Empowerment (ReHoPE) strategic framework (2017), Ogalo said the programme endeavours to  support both the refugee and host community. Although Merusa’s abuser fled back to South Sudan and escaped justice, she has regained her self-esteem and is determined to follow in Fatuma’s footsteps and return to school next year.

 “The cash and skilling training programme has given me the confidence to  go back to school. I want to study and join Muni University to pursue nursing. I have used the money provided by UNICEF Uganda to invest in a joint-venture business with my elder sister and have also joined the Goodwill Village Saving Group  (VSG),” she added.

Another South Sudanese refugee, Noah Baker (21), a cash plus skilling beneficiary who had dropped out in primary seven, has also gone back to school. “I’m now in senior two at Imvepi Secondary School, and I thank UNICEF for the financial support, which has helped increase income in my small baking business,” he said.

 During one of the training sessions, Merusa and Fatuma’s cohort were visited by Hamida Kabarwan -a cadre health worker at Odupi Health Center III in Odupi subcounty, Terego district. Kabarwan provided vital information to the beneficiaries about child protection services and Government of Uganda programmes tailored at stopping child labour and early marriages.

The trainees were also informed about the Sauti -Uganda Child Helpline (UCHL) through which adolescents and young people can report cases of abuse and gender-based violence (GBV). The call centre operates 24 hours a day across  Uganda under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD).

Sustainability and scaling up

Ogalo said the programme prioritizes government leadership and ownership by  working closely with national and local authorities to advocate for inclusive  financing and the integration of adolescent-focused social protection into national planning and budgeting processes. It will also strengthen community  engagement and enhance capacity-building of local leaders, service providers  and community structures to ensure long-term continuity of services.