Congolese Refugees Look Inward for Support Amid COVID-19 Scourge

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Uganda, Africa's largest refugee host, is imposing restrictions on movement after another spike in COVID-19 cases, and that’s creating an even greater economic struggle for the vulnerable in urban areas. One refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is finding a way to overcome that struggle and help other refugees.

Cutting polythene bags, using leftover material and then sewing, Noella Kabale and her team are hard at work as they make, among other items, masks and sanitary towels. Kabale arrived in Uganda in 2011 from the DRC, fleeing civil strife. She settled in Kampala, but little did she know life was going to be even more difficult. Living hand to mouth, Kabale got vocational hands-on training for arts and crafts and eventually formed the Refugee Entrepreneurship Association with her small savings.