RESPECT International Blog

The Problem

Many refugees arrive in Uganda with little or no spoken English. The problem this poses for them could be as simple as not being able to ask for a glass of water or as complex as not being able to testify at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where the people responsible for wars and genocide are brought to justice. It makes is difficult for people to find work or a place to live and prevents them from building secure lives for themselves and their families.

Also, many refugees want to continue their education which may have been interrupted by war or use the degrees they already have from their country of origin. Many refugees need an opportunity to build a future for themselves.

Where RESPECT comes in

The Refugee Law Project (RLP) is part of the RESPECT University in Uganda. The program provides free adult literacy programs in various African countries, allowing refugees greater freedom to communicate effectively in English thereby increasing their possibilities for the future.

It was started in order to help people tell their stories to (UNHCR) to bring war crimes to justice, however, it offers many more opportunities than that. For those who are illiterate, they can start with Basic Literacy, or Functional Adult Literacy for those who don’t speak English or even Higher Education Services to help where people need to learn English to go to college.

Through RESPECT volunteer tutors provide the opportunities for this education. One Congolese refugee student, Pierre Mulowe, had his medical training interrupted by the war. He was able to continue his education through distance learning at RLP with a tutor based in Canada.

RESPECT coordinators such as Joan McDonald in Kampala, Uganda, download course material and distribute it and upload completed assignments back to the tutors.

For more information on Joan McDonald, see below.

Further Information

More informaton can be found on our website.

To read more on this story visit our ezine.

Helping People Help Themselves

Learning and education acts as a starting point for people to be able to help themselves out of poverty, in turn leading to a more peaceful society through increased prosperity. Jenkins Macedo held a book drive to supply educational materials, books and used computers to give people access to the education they want.

Mutual Inspiration

Linda St. Germain, a student at Worcester State College, United States, involved the student council in the book drive, taking the opportunity to benefit not only the African students but the students of her own college.

Another school to get involved was the Fanning Learning Center in Worcester: an alternative to mainstream school for students with difficult home lives. Theresa Venuti, a teacher at Fanning, encouraged her students to each bring books from home. The feeling of helping other people helped the students at Fanning to believe they can get over their fears and have hope in their own futures. The hope is that the students at Fanning will choose careers human service as a result of the first step taken here.

Further Information

For more information on the book drive click here.

RESPECT International website click here.

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