Building Resilience: The Refugee Self-Reliance Model in Uganda

We learned beekeeping from our parents, the traditional way. Now, we want to modernize it, so the business can improve our living standards,” said Hasan Nkubito who is engaged in beekeeping in Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

Having been in Uganda for over 10 years, Hassan hopes honey can support his family to be self-reliant.

 “I came to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have spent many years here in Uganda but I don't need to continuously be supported. I want to work for myself,” Hassan said. “We started beekeeping to be able to provide for our families. I managed to buy cows, and invest in my children’s education,” he adds. 

Refugees in Uganda face multiple and intersecting challenges. With funding for refugee programmes dwindling and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has collaborated with the Government of Uganda and other partners to support refugees and host communities transition from depending on humanitarian assistance to meeting their own food needs. The Self-Reliance Model, funded by the governments of Ireland, Norway and United Kingdom, promotes income generation, access to social protection, social norms change, and financial skills. 

WFP is already supporting communal farming for refugees and host communities by providing them with solar-powered irrigation to produce enough to eat and sell through their vegetable gardens. Under the Self-Reliance Model, WFP aims to scale up such interventions to enable more people to earn a decent living from farming and other activities. 

At only 19-year-old, Yvette Nyiramushiga has engaged in solar powered vegetable farming since 2022. “I was four when my family fled to Uganda from DR Congo. I want to support my family so we no longer depend on WFP’s assistance,” said Yvette. “We eat some of what we produce and take some to the market. At the last harvest, I made 100,000 Uganda shillings. I am saving some of the money I get from farming to invest in a tailoring business,” she adds. 

Conflict and climate crises in the region continue to drive the influx of refugees into the country. In 2023, at least 130,000 new refugees were registered in Uganda, most fleeing conflict in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 “The United Nations is committed to providing innovative interventions that holistically address the challenges that refugees are facing and give them tools to earn a decent living and contribute fully to society,” said Ms. Susan Namondo Ngongi, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uganda. “The Self-Reliance Model is an example of a model that will enable not just WFP but also other UN agencies, partners and government to not only implement self-reliance projects but be able to measure progress, learn and improve services.”