The Archbishop of Church of Uganda, The Most Rev Dr Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, has launched the Church’s annual Children’s Focus Month with a pastoral visit and outreach to children in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, one of Africa’s largest refugee communities and home to more than 186,000 people.
The Archbishop led a special service dedicated to children at Kashojwa Church of Uganda in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement Camp.
He was assisted by the Provincial Secretary Rev Canon William Ongeng, Ankole Diocese Bishop’s Commissary Rev Canon Nathan Bobs Mwesigye, the Director of Household and Community Transformation Rev Agaba Andrew, Ankole Diocesan Secretary Rev Canon Edison Abaasa and the Provincial Youth and Students Coordinator, Rev Richard Rukundo among other Clergy and leaders.
Archbishop Kaziimba Mugalu reaffirmed the Church’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding and uplifting vulnerable children and emphasized that Children’s Focus Month, observed every November across all 39 Dioceses, is dedicated to demonstrating acts of love, offering hope, and advocating for the overall wellbeing of children.
He noted that Uganda, home to over 1.8 million refugees, has both a moral and spiritual responsibility to show compassion, especially to the youngest and most vulnerable and highlighted that Nakivale hosts tens of thousands of children whose lives and dreams have been disrupted by conflict and displacement.
The Archbishop condemning wars driven by selfish interests, he stressed the devastating impact of conflict on innocent families.
“War is the only place where young people who do not know each other, do not hate each other, fight each other because of old people who know each other but cannot fight each other yet later meet, shake hands, and celebrate together,” Archbishop Kaziimba Mugalu said.
The Church of Uganda, through its Directorate of Household and Community Transformation (HCT) and partners under the ACT Alliance, continues to provide a range of services including food and non-food relief, trauma counselling, psychosocial support, Gender Based Violence prevention, education initiatives, peacebuilding and spiritual care.
Since establishing an office in Nakivale in July 2024, these interventions have reached more than 3,000 refugees and Archbishop Kaziimba Mugalu called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, civil society, development partners and the wider Christian community to prioritize children in resource allocation and national programming.
He encouraged Ugandans of goodwill to donate essential supplies such as food, sanitary materials, scholastic items and household necessities to support refugee families.
Earlier in the day, the Archbishop addressed the Western Uganda Bishops and Spouses Fellowship at Las Vegas Hotel in Mbarara City, where he commended the Bishops for championing peace, love and reconciliation in the dioceses they serve.
According to the Provincial Secretary, Rev Canon William Ongeng, the Archbishop delivered a substantial consignment of relief items to support children in Nakivale.
These included posho, beans, matooke, clothing, assorted bedding, sugar, diapers, powdered soap, bathing soap, toilet paper, and other essentials for more than 1,000 children aged 0 to 17.
Addressing the Bishops’ fellowship, Titus Jogo from the Office of the Prime Minister’s Refugee Desk Officer for Mbarara, thanked Church of Uganda for its consistent intervention, particularly in Nakivale.
“Refugees in Uganda are a shared responsibility. This spiritual reward brought by the Archbishop’s visit is far greater than the food we provide. Uganda maintains an open-door policy and welcomes refugees from all over the world because of our peaceful nature and the generosity of our people,” he said.
The Senior Protection Officer for Mbarara representing the UNHCR Head of Mbarara Office, Fatoumata Dioulde Diallo, acknowledged the challenges posed by donor funding cuts but reaffirmed UNHCR’s continued commitment to refugee protection in Uganda and globally.
She noted emerging policy shifts, including plans to deliver most refugee services in the form of cash transfers to promote dignity and choice.
The National Field and Emergency Coordinator at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ssentamu John Bosco, praised the Church of Uganda as a reliable and dependable partner in refugee response and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting refugees without discrimination.
