New Reception Area: Kagoma

                                                                                                                                              5/9/2013

The reception center of a refugee settlement camp is the first point of contact with the new arrivals which sets the refugees up with the supplies and temporary shelters that they need to start off with in Kyangwali. The current reception area being used to host these incoming refugees has been located at one of the local schools here in town. Though it has worked as a make-shift facility for now, a new site for this reception area must be constructed before the start of a new school year. Fortunately, the Ugandan People Defense Forces, funded by UNHCR, have started construction on the new reception area that is located in the village called Kagoma.    

Sleeping shelters ready for refugees

Unlike other reception areas that were/are based around schools, this one is set up with its own land and structures that are properly suited for housing and preparing incoming refugees for their new lives. UNHCR aims to push around three convoys per week, carrying around 1500 people per convoy. However, the average time it takes to equip, move, and settle a refugee convoy is three days.

       

          Day One: Arriving

          Day Two: Distributing

          Day Three: Moving them to their plots

Having this new and larger reception area will help alleviate some of the demand that is put on these organizations to process and settle this influx of refugees; at the same time making the process easier for the refugees, who already have to undergo two similar facilities before reaching this final stage.  

More shelters being constructed to house as
many refugees as possible

The reception center will have eight 8x20 meter facilities for sleeping, other facilities for cooking, registration, and distribution points. Once completed this center will be the largest and the official reception center of Kyangwali. Since the school that they use now for the reception center opens on September 16th, this new reception center needs to be open before then, and the school cleaned up.

Despite all this, a few issues will still prevail even with the opening of the new center. UNHCR wants to move three convoys in per week to try to get as many refugees as possible into Kyangwali. If each convoy takes a minimum of three days to process them, then they will fall short two days and will fall behind their targeted number. Even with this new reception center built, the demand in Kyangwali is too great to keep up with. There is never a comfortable median where the refugees can pour in and the organizations can process and keep them supplied. On top of this, if the weather turns to unfavorable conditions, then they may not even be able to settle these refugees in the three days they quote. Both the organizations and the refugees are running out of time, help, and patience here in Kyangwali.