© Australia for UNHCR/Hugh Rutherford
Uganda
The smallest survivors: Children are fleeing war on their own
Unaccompanied refugee children in Uganda urgently need your help.
Uganda
Unaccompanied refugee children in Uganda urgently need your help.
Aotearoa New Zealand for UNHCR is shining a spotlight on a hidden emergency: unaccompanied refugee children in Uganda, the youngest survivors of brutal conflict.
Children from countries including Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are fleeing violent wars without their parents or guardians.
Orphaned, lost or cut off from their loved ones – many arrive in Uganda alone and in urgent need of care and protection.
UNHCR teams are on the ground, working tirelessly to protect children, support foster families, and deliver healthcare and education.
But these support systems are stretched to breaking point. Hundreds of unaccompanied children are arriving in Uganda each month. There aren’t enough social workers, foster carers or teachers to support these vulnerable children. Food is scarce. Schools are overcrowded. Medicine is running out.
Every child deserves a childhood. But without your urgent help, refugee children like Jules, Leila and Obed will miss out on these precious years.
Jules*, 17, not only looks after his two younger sisters, Victoire*, 10, and Belle*, 9, but also three of his cousins. He dropped out of school in 2023 to care for them, and his responsibilities weigh on him heavily. He is especially concerned about Victoire, who is HIV-positive.
“My sister is sick and needs medication. This disturbs me so much,” says Jules. “I need to provide food and take care of my siblings. I want to go back to school for a better future, a better life, happiness. We are just kids. We need someone. We are all young. It is not easy.”
Francis, a caseworker with UNHCR’s partner ALIGHT, is their lifeline. He visits regularly, keeps in close contact with trusted neighbours, and offers material aid such as food and clothing whenever possible.
“Francis is who we have,” says Jules. “Whenever we have problems, we run to Francis. He helps however he can.”
Leila*, 6, is a Sudanese refugee living with a foster carer, Ella*, in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Leila originally came to Uganda with her father but, when he was forced to return home, Ella offered to care for the girl.
When Leila first came into Ella’s care, she was unwell and wasn’t speaking. Today, while she is still shy, she is happily attending school and calls her foster mother ‘Mama Ella’.
Ella is extraordinarily generous. She, too, is a Sudanese refugee, and has five biological children and one grandchild. She used to work as a lab technician but now has a small bakery she runs from home.
UNHCR supported Ella’s small business, enabling her to buy two ovens and expand the bakery. This income means she can afford school fees for Leila (around $35 per term). Leila is in her second year of primary school, where she has good friends. She says her best subject is literacy.
“I like to read and sometimes I help in the bakery,” says Leila. “I would like to become a businesswoman. Mama Ella is my inspiration.”
Obed*, 17, is the eldest of five children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One day, he came home to find his parents gone – captured by rebels. He didn’t know what to do. He stayed home with his siblings, hoping his parents would return, but when the rebels came back, the children decided to flee to Uganda for their own safety.
In Uganda, UNHCR and partners helped Obed and his siblings reunite with their father and, four months later, with their mother, who had managed to escape the rebels. The family received a small shelter and some land, where they grow crops such as cassava.
“I’m very happy and glad I’ve reunited with my parents. I didn’t think I’d see them again... Though life may be difficult, I am happy because I have my parents,” says Obed.
Although the family is overjoyed to be together again, they continue to face many challenges. While his younger sisters are able to attend primary school for free, Obed can’t afford the fees required for secondary school. His mother, Bercia*, supports the family by working as a farm labourer, but her earnings don’t go far.
“I earn very little from the gardens. I only receive what I can eat for the day. I have kidney pain and I’m unwell – it's very difficult,” she says.
Alone, afraid and far from home – unaccompanied children are some of the most at-risk refugees in Uganda. With no one else to turn to, they rely on UNHCR. Your generosity can give them the safety, stability and support they desperately need.
Your donation can help these vulnerable children:
Unaccompanied and separated refugee children need your support right now.
Please don’t leave these children behind.
*All names have been changed and some faces hidden to protect the identities of vulnerable children and their carers.