UGANDA

OUR NFS UGANDA & DRC STORY

Background

Uganda has one of the highest levels of youth unemployment – more than 75% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30 and 13.3% are unemployed. This has fueled an increase in Ugandans lured to the Middle East and Asia with false job promises. Safe employment opportunities for this generation are desperately needed. Few traffickers have been convicted and of those that have, half faced no jail time. COPTIP reported that traffickers are increasingly organized and may have formed regional trafficking networks. Efforts to identify victims and stop traffickers are vital.

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Our Mission and Purpose

To offer a brighter future to the children of the Kyangwali Refugee Camp.

School children in Uganda playing sports

OUR WORK

With our partner, CIYOTA, a non-profit established by refugee youth, we provide housing, educational opportunities and support to children from the Kyangwali Refugee Camp who have been trafficked or are vulnerable to exploitation. Often schools, housing and food programs are unable to accommodate the vast influx of refugees and many children are left behind. 

In 2019, we increased the number of children able to attend school from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi. A new dormitory is being built to house an additional 100 unaccompanied minors and orphans to our primary school. Unlike other schools, we are able to provide meals for our students. 

We also operate entrepreneurial leadership programs and facilitate community service and support. In partnership with Spence Diamonds – a lab grown diamond company – we are investing in social enterprises created by refugees. Though our work with young entrepreneurs, Not for Sale is able to create safe and stable employment opportunities.

Our Impact In Numbers

In 2019, through Not For Sale Uganda..

children received legal and health services

young people received job training

children received an education

children are housed at the NFS shelter

OUR CHALLENGES

In the refugee camp of Kyangwali, Uganda, there are approximately 40,000 Congolese refugees that have fled civil war, ethnic cleansing and related atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. From a very young age children across Uganda are exploited for labor in industries from agriculture and mining to street vending and domestic service, refugees are particularly vulnerable. In Uganda, it is estimated that there are between 7,000 to 12,000 children involved in prostitution. Traffickers also target children from the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan.