Action for Churches Together (ACT) Alliance members under the Regional Appeal CEA421 in Response to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) conflict have today July 24th successfully concluded a four-day joint monitoring and learning visit to Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Isingiro District.
The visit, thar was held from July 21st to today 24th, 2025, was organized to strengthen regional collaboration and share best practices in refugee response and humanitarian programming.
The delegation brought together representatives from ACT Alliance member forums in Uganda Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Humanitarian team from ACT Regional Secretariat for Africa in Nairobi creating a unique cross-border learning platform and participating members from Uganda included Finn Church Aid (FCA), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), HEKS/EPER (Swiss Church Aid) and Church of Uganda.
The delegation from Tanzania was represented by Tanganyika Christian Refugee Services (TCRS), while Kenya was represented by the ACT Alliance Regional Office and Democratic Republic of Congo partners included Christian Aid (CA), Bureau Œcuménique d’Appui au Développement (BOAD), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo (EELCO) and Église du Christ au Congo (ECC).
The delegates started their monitoring and learning visit with a courtesy meeting with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Office in Mbarara, the Regional Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in Mbarara and field Commandant in Nakivale Based Camp.
During the course of the visit, delegates engaged with project participants including direct and indirect beneficiaries, implementing structures, host communities and local stakeholders and the different field activities included focus group discussions with men, women, youth, elders and religious faith leaders.
Members also interacted with community structures providing psychosocial support, peacebuilding initiatives, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response among others and additional site visits included an education community supported facility, livelihoods and cash-for-work interventions.
While speaking at the learning event this afternoon, the ACT Uganda Forum Coordinator and Regional Appeal Lead Ms Irene Anena stated, “This joint learning mission has reinforced our shared commitment to dignified, inclusive, and contextually relevant humanitarian programming. Through this visit, we have seen the strength of our partnerships in action – learning from one another, building solidarity, and deepening our collective impact for displaced populations across the region.”
The mission concluded with a joint reflection and learning session, where each country forum shared key takeaways, challenges, and actionable recommendations to strengthen regional coordination and the ongoing ACT Appeal.
ABOUT ACT ALLIANCE:
ACT Alliance (Action for Churches Together), is a global faith-based coalition organized in national and regional forums operating in more than 120 countries. Through over 140 member organizations, they support local communities by working on humanitarian aid, gender and climate justice, migration and displacement, and peace and security.
The goal is to promote a locally led and coordinated approach to advocacy, humanitarian and development issues and collectively, members employ more than 19,000 staff and over 32,000 volunteers across the globe and remain committed to putting Hope in Action through faith inspired approaches and Networks.
