To educate refugees in Meheba about their rights and to facilitate the access of services that fit their needs and rights.
Meheba Refugee Settlement is a 14,000-person, 720-square-kilometer community in which some refugees have lived for over 30 years. As Meheba was developed as a long-term settlement, rather than a camp, direct services have steadily decreased due to the expectation that residents would become established and able to care for their own needs. This process of withdrawal by many of the original aid organizations has left many Meheba refugees without reliable knowledge regarding their rights or the appropriate measures to take when faced with challenges such as domestic violence, obtaining legal rights, and accessing food distribution. Through its all-refugee outreach staff, the FORGE Refugee Advocacy Initiative (RAI) acts as a bridge between refugees and their rights to services - facilitating the flow of information throughout the Meheba community. This project has helped dozens of vulnerable refugees access food rations, confront domestic abuse, and realize their rights as refugees.
To promote reading, learning, and enrichment through library resources.
On any given day, you can enter a Meheba Friendly Library to find dozens of adults and students reading novels, studying computer engineering, and educating themselves in history, leadership, and current events. Before the Meheba Friendly Libraries, the refugees of Meheba had no way to access any type of books. Now, the Settlement is home to the largest library in a refugee camp anywhere in the world. Since the inception of the first Meheba Friendly Library in 2004, FORGE and the all-refugee library staff have expanded their original program to create a network of 5 libraries in Meheba that house a combined total of over 20,000 books. Hailed as ‘a miracle in the middle of the bush’ by the UN refugee agency, the libraries are open to all 14,000 members of the Meheba community and their outstretched network makes access to information and self-improvement possible for all.
To reduce poverty and develop the skills of entrepreneurs living in Meheba through business education and microlending.
Due to legal restrictions, formal employment is not permitted for refugees in Zambia. This leaves many refugees dependent on rations and handouts in order to meet their daily needs, and fails to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit so prevalent within the camps. FORGE’s Microlending Project addresses this problem by recognizing the resourcefulness and creativity evident in many of Meheba’s residents and supporting their drive to utilize informal business opportunities. The FORGE Microlending Project provides small loans of $150 to give individuals the chance to become self-sufficient and to support their families. The Project also offers business education classes to assist refugees in building successful ventures, as well as locally-tailored support through refugee micro-loan officers. Through this combination of monetary assistance and education, most loanees have realized profits over 100%. Loan by loan, the lending project steadily reduces poverty, increases food security, alleviates dependence on international aid, and allows individuals affected by war to regain control over their lives.
To provide a publication for the community to inform itself, express opinions, and celebrate its successes.
Most of the residents of Mwange Refugee Camp lack access to accurate information regarding the camp, their home country, and the outside world. Journal Mwange is designed to meet this need by giving refugees a forum to report on the issues they find important. Through articles on community role-models, Journal Mwange fosters a sense of pride and hope based on the success and ingenuity of this vibrant community. Additionally, the staff of Journal Mwange carefully and consistently fact-check their stories with United Nations Refugee Agency and its other nonprofit partners in the hopes that their stories can counteract the rumors that sometime swirl through a camp of this size. Ultimately, Journal Mwange is not just a means of receiving information for the residents of Mwange Camp; rather, as the first newspaper that many of the younger refugees have ever read, it represents possibilities and their own potential.
To support individuals affected with AIDS through financial initiatives and through the spread of information about AIDS.
Of the 25 million people living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, those who have fled war are particularly vulnerable. Yet at the same time, the refugee populations with whom FORGE works are often amongst the first from their countries to have heard of the virus, and are strategically poised to spread life-saving information when they return home. The Mwange FACE AIDS Project takes advantage of this opportunity to spread knowledge and information about AIDS and how it can avoided. It also facilitates support groups in which individuals affected by the epidemic come together to assist each other financially and psychologically. By working to reduce its spread and impact, the FACE AIDS Project empowers refugees to take a stand against this devastating global epidemic.
To provide the opportunity of secondary education to talented refugee youth who cannot afford the cost of school.
Believing strongly in the power of education to advance communities, FORGE provides scholarships to promising individuals to attend secondary school. By allow young refugees to increase their personal prospects and horizons, these scholars help to build community vitality and provide hope for the future. The Meheba Scholarship Fund provides educational scholarships to refugee youth who are promising students but are otherwise unable to afford schooling. Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, books, pens, uniforms, transportation to and from school, and a small amount of pocket money for miscellaneous expenses. The small investment in the education of these promising individuals will continue to pay off over the course of their lifetimes.
To provide post-secondary scholarships for exceptional refugee adults who have been accepted to universities and vocational schools in Zambia.
For many refugees in Zambia, secondary school is a privilege, and university seems an impossible proposition. Not only is university tuition expensive, but obtaining the legal approval to leave the camp and travel to a campus is nearly impossible for these refugees given their limited resources for communication and navigating the Zambian system. This situation is tragic, given that many of the refugees with whom FORGE works are exceptionally intelligent and academically motivated. The FORGE Post-Secondary Scholarship Fund provides the structure and means for these exceptional students to attend university, obtain a degree, and outfit themselves with the qualifications necessary to find a job upon their return to their home countries. Many of these students have chosen to focus their studies on nonprofit management, in the hopes that they can use their education to give back to their communities and build strong systems for the future.
To provide an outlet for creative expression and recreation for residents of Mwange Refugee Camp.
In refugee camps, the opportunities to express oneself creatively are often severely limited. Even those individuals who have the time or energy to devote to artistic endeavors are limited by a lack of resources – no instruments for making music, paint for creating murals, or forums for sharing poetry, rap, or spoken word performances. The Mwange Arts program provides these resources, along with the training to allow refugees to expand their creative abilities and outlets for expression. In a population that has been through such hardship as the refugees of Mwange Camp, creative outlets can prove incredibly therapeutic. Additionally, as refugees begin expressing themselves and their opinions, they grow more empowered to act on their beliefs and push their communities towards their potential. Even women, who often grew up being told that their opinions were inferior, often take to the stage and assert their beliefs – that the refugees of Mwange Refugee Camp are powerful, equal, and capable.
To spread knowledge and build a sense of community in Kala camp by creating and circulating a refugee-produced news publication.
In the past, refugees in Kala Refugee Camp consistently voiced their concern with their lack of access to current news and information. Since few refugees have the means to travel outside of the camp to obtain a newspaper or find a news broadcast on TV, many refugees ended up feeling isolated and uninformed. Even on a smaller scale, within their own communities, refugees recognized a tendency for rumors to flourish in an environment without a reliable news source. Kala Camp News is a community publication that eases these strains by reporting on local happenings as well as international events. With Editor-in-Chief Kombe le Bon leading and training the staff, volunteer refugee journalists take the publication through each phase of production. The result is a two-pronged effect that meets the immediate community needs for information while simultaneously providing marketable job skills for the staff.
To decrease the incidence of unnecessary illness, death and disease in Kala camp through educating adults and children about healthy living and disease prevention.
Knowledge about how to build healthy families, live healthy lives, and treat and avoid illness is among the most highly-sought after information in the refugee camps in which FORGE works. The refugee staff of Kala Health Services takes a holistic approach to health education by teaching about disease and illness by focusing on human anatomy and body systems. From this solid foundation, students learn about how diseases are contracted, spread, and avoided. Serving more than 800 people each month, Kala Health Services has seen marked improvements in the camp’s knowledge about caring for and maintaining their own personal health. This knowledge will be especially important upon return to Congo, where many people have no access to formal health services.
To develop a reliable system to deliver seeds to farmers so that they may begin cultivating at the appropriate time, and to organize a successful market for the community to buy and sell goods.
Block H in Meheba Refugee Settlement is composed mainly of farmers. In trying to support themselves and their families, these farmers depend on a reliable output from their crops. However, they have struggled in the past to obtain the seeds they need on time, resulting in disastrous losses in food supply and income. Further, even the crops they managed to produce were difficult to sell, as there has been no market near Block H. Given these challenges, the Block H community was determined to develop a project that both delivers seeds to farmers on time and ensures that they have a viable place to sell their goods. This project, one of the first planned and executed entirely by the refugees themselves, promises to increase the livelihood of Block H farmers while supplying other citizens of Block H with healthy, fresh foods to supplement their diets.
To decrease disease and pregnancy-related deaths by providing access to health information and resources in Mwange Refugee Camp.
In Mwange, one small clinic serves over 20,000 people. Overcrowding and frequent shortages of medications and supplies lead many refugees to avoid being treated for their illnesses, and pregnant women tend to be particularly hesitant to seek medical attention. The Mwange Health Center acts as a medical liaison – disseminating information about healthy living and disease preventative while building knowledge about common ailments and their symptoms. The Center works closely with the local clinic, referring people who need medical attention and dispelling myths and fears. With a particular focus on women’s health, the Center’s workshops on maternal and reproductive health are always booked with long waiting lists of women eager to learn about their bodies and how to keep their children healthy and safe.
To improve access to medical care and health education in one of the most populated refugee communities in Meheba Settlement, which has not had a working clinic for more than five years.
Geographically, Block G in Meheba Refugee Settlement finds itself at a drastic disadvantage in terms of receiving health services. Located at the back of the camp and far from any clinics, the refugees of Block G feel isolated and underserved when it comes to medical attention. When FORGE brought this community together to determine what they needed, the answer was clear: an opportunity for healthier lives. After an extensive needs assessment the refugee project leader explains that, "the findings showed clearly that the population of all ages and classes suffered pain of lack of medical services." Thus they designed the FORGE Health Service project, which will enable patients who can’t make it to the nearest clinic get basic medicines, allow pregnant women to get delivery assistance by trained midwives; and give children access to the care that they need. This project will help all 2200 people in this block to live longer and healthier lives.
To develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of refugee women by providing a safe space for women to work together, create, learn and expand their horizons.
The strength and leadership that female refugees provide bolsters their homes and communities on a daily basis. Working with FORGE, Angolan refugee Jacqui B. established the Meheba Women’s Center in 2005 to encourage and support women in the Meheba community. To this end, Jacqui B and the staff of the Meheba Women’s Center, in conjunction with FORGE, have created a place for women to pursue vocational training, workshops on their gender-specific rights, and informal counseling services to address cases of rape and domestic abuse. Today, the Meheba Women's Center, managed entirely by refugee women, is a vibrant and bustling cornerstone of the Meheba Community.
To increase literacy and foster a culture of learning in Mwange Refugee Camp.
The FORGE Mwange Library is the sole library available to the 20,000-person community of Mwange Refugee Camp. The library's full name, Bibliotheque Alfajiri: Source de Connaissance means “Library of the Break of Dawn: Source of Knowledge” and was coined by the community to show their belief in the importance of education. Built in 2005, this library is a peaceful haven for the Mwange community to enjoy the selection of over 2,000 books. The all-refugee staff also leads activities such as a library youth group, a storytelling group, evening reading, and a women's book group. The library serves over 6000 visitors each year.
To provide computer education and trainings in peace and non-violence.
As refugees are often the innocent victims of nations torn apart by war, peace education is both a highly sought after and highly respected curriculum within the camps in which FORGE works. Including such skills as non-violent communication, constructive collaborative, conflict resolution, and mediation, the peace component of the project teaches valuable tools that can be used to build community stability both within the camps and, eventually, within their home countries. While peace education provides the framework for a better future, scholars are quick to note that the lasting stability cannot be reached when individuals and communities have nothing to lose. Thus, the computer aspect of the project helps refugees to gain the skills that will build the economic opportunities that lay at the root of social stability. Realizing that the world has become increasingly reliant on technology for growth and expansion, refugees know that gaining a solid understanding of computer technology gives them an important tool for the establishment of a successful future. Computer skills can allow refugees to contribute to the rebuilding of their lives and countries by successfully gaining employment and by sharing the lessons that they have learned within the camp.
To provide early childhood and adult literacy education in a community with a high percentage of young children and low literacy rates.
Early childhood education in Block F of Meheba Refugee Settlement is practically nonexistent. With the nearest school over a two hour walk from this community, few of its children have had the opportunity to attend preschool, starting them off at an educational disadvantage very early in their lives. Because of these restrictions, the leaders of Block F have planned and are now proudly establishing the Mwangaza Education Centers, a network of services in the camp that will promote early learning through preschools and continued learning through adult education classes. As the name of the center, “Mwangaza” (“light”), suggests, this project represents hope and possibilities for a brighter future for these refugees.
To provide repatriating refugees with tools and knowledge that will help them start healthy new lives when they return to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Many of the residents of Kala Refugee Camp have been living in refuge since 2000, when they fled war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Now, as the DRC celebrates more than two years without widespread conflict, these individuals are preparing to return home. Often unaware of the changes that await them, the skills that will be needed to successfully rebuild their lives, and their rights as repatriating refugees, the residents of Kala expressed a great need for assistance with navigating the repatriation process. In order to support and facilitate this journey, FORGE established the Community-Driven Repatriation Center (CDRC) to provide refugees with knowledge and skills that will help them transition to a new life. For many repatriating refugees, this refugee-staffed project means the difference between a smooth and successful restart to their lives and a rocky one.
To provide preschool education and creative opportunities to
children ages 3-5 living in the Meheba Refugee Settlement.
Although they come from many different countries and represent many different ethnic groups, the common experience of war seems to have united the refugees of Meheba in the belief that educating their children is the key to a better future. Educational science reinforces this belief, proving that children who build a solid educational foundation early in life are more likely to succeed in subsequent years of school. Building upon this commitment to education, FORGE has established two community preschools in Meheba: Kunachi (the Swahili word for 'illumination') and Dufatanye (the Rwandan word for 'togetherness'). Together, the refugee-staffed Meheba Preschools serve over 200 students, who gather daily to sing educational songs, learn basic reading, writing, and math skills, and practice critical life skills like personal responsibility, sharing, and working collaboratively in a group. In a community that otherwise lacks books and basic educational materials, these preschools offer the only structured educational stimulus that most children under six ever receive.
To empower women to develop the confidence and skills to serve as leaders and agents of social change in their own lives, with their families, and in their communities.
Despite being the lynchpins for the families and communities, women in Mwange face particular challenges as they are more vulnerable to poverty, discrimination, violence, and health problems than are men. Not afforded the same opportunities as men, women generally work in the home and have few opportunities for social or economic control. Some women in the camp suffered egregious sexual violence during conflict and displacement, and remain vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence in the camp. To address these gender imbalances and restore the dignity of half the camp’s population, the Mwange Women’s Center empowers females to take more control over their health and their sexual and political rights. This project was designed by the women of Mwange to give themselves a role in the worldwide women’s movements that have been successful in creating a greater voice for women, and in empowering women to improve their own lives.
To expand opportunities for adult literacy and learning through courses in computer technology, English and musical instruments.
With the knowledge that their future prospects hinge upon their level of skill and education, many refugee teenagers and adults actively seek out opportunities to advanced themselves while in the camp. Led by a multi-talented refugee staff, the Meheba Adult Skills project is the only service in Meheba Refugee Settlement that specifically targets the needs of adult advancement. The programs offered at this center include instruction in computer technology, English language education, and music theory and practice. These classes exist to enable adults to be productive during their time in exile and successfully prepare themselves for integration into the workforce.
To enhance the earning potential and job skills of Kala Camp residents through valuable computer skills.
Refugees know that during their time in refuge, the world has become more and more reliant on technology. In this, they know that the future prospects of their families and their countries may depend upon the extent to which they gain the skills of the new tech economy. To make sure that Congo and the residents of Kala do not get left behind, the Kala Computer and Technology Center provides training in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint to over 1500 refugees annually. Courses are taught in English, French, and Swahili. In a recent voyage to the Democratic Republic of Congo, FORGE found that most of the local employees who worked with computers were former FORGE computer students. These individuals credit FORGE with their success in finding work and being able to support their families.
To provide an empowering skill that will expand the vocational and educational horizons of refugees upon their return to the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC).
The Mwange Computer Training Center, or Laboratoire Informatique Safari (LISa), is a fully-equipped, solar-powered computer center that offers refugees the opportunity to learn about and work with computers – something few have ever had a chance to do. Knowing that this skill will provide increased opportunity for employment in the world’s evolving economy, the wait list to attend is thousands of names long and each of the ten Panasonic Toughbook laptops is used round-the-clock in intensive, 2-month training sessions. The Mwange Computer Training Center has provided computer skills to over 1000 refugees.
To increase literacy and educational opportunity in Kala Camp by providing the only access to educational and information materials.
In communities where knowledge is so actively sought, a library quickly becomes a bastion of learning. For the population of Kala Refugee Camp, the Kala Peace Library (Bibliotheque de la Paix) plays anchor to this pursuit of knowledge. With well over 2,000 titles, stacks of periodicals, games, puzzles, and over 200 CDs, there are dozens of ways in which the patrons of the library enjoy reading and learning. The librarians also conduct letter-writing and resume-writing classes for adults, in order to help them secure employment when they return home. On the weekends, the library is home to story-telling hour for children and educational movie screenings at night. The Kala Peace Library is open to all 20,000 residents of Kala.
To prepare Mwange residents for repatriation through skills training and the communication of up-to-date information related to the repatriation process.
Many of the residents of Mwange Refugee Camp have been living in refuge since 2000, when they fled war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Now, as the DRC celebrates more than two years without widespread conflict, these individuals are preparing to return home. Often unaware of the changes that await them, the skills that will be needed to successfully rebuild their lives, and their rights as repatriating refugees, the residents of Mwange expressed a great need for assistance with navigating the repatriation process. In order to support and facilitate this journey, FORGE established the Community Skills & Resource Center and the Reseau d'Information pour le Repatriement (RIR), which were later combined to create The FORGE Mwange Repatriation Center. For many repatriating refugees, this refugee-staffed project means the difference between a smooth and successful restart to their lives and a rocky one.
