by Perez Abeka

19 June 2008

Kitgum, Uganda: It was August 2006 when it was proposed I undertake a UNV volunteer opportunity with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in northern Uganda. I was to assist people internally displaced by the 20-year conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army group and the Government of Uganda. Referring to my Terms of Reference – I would be working as an Associate Protection Officer – it was like a dream come true.

My duty station was to be in Pader District. As soon as I arrived in the country, people were dismayed at the mention of Pader and this left one suspicious! Despite this, I was confident deep inside that I would make it. I had survived in Afghanistan and being in Uganda meant being at home. When the time for my deployment came, I was posted to Kitgum, a district which had recently split from Pader district.

I had already guessed the status of Kitgum town given its location and the kind of grass thatched huts that we passed by on our way. I was overwhelmed by anxiety and I pictured Kitgum as a little town with dilapidated buildings. When we arrived, all the guest houses were fully booked and my two colleagues and I struggled to find accommodation though we eventually found some. The nights were too long; but amazingly, as I grumbled about the status of the guest house, other occupants were left mesmerised by the good service and prices!

The Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Coordinator then was Peter Deck, who was a great encouragement. He told me that he admired my courage and positive attitude. Before Peter left for Gulu, he informed me that I would stay in Kitgum for the time being but may be relocated to Pader. He hesitantly hinted that Pader was a new district that was growing fast. There was no need for a fact-finding mission, but I put two and two together.

But my zeal to work in protection was my driving force and this was the opportune moment to pass the test of endurance and determination. As I recalled how I was deeply touched at the sorry state of the children the first time I visited an IDP camp in Gulu, I promised myself never to give up in my endeavours to change people’s lives. I shared this with my family, who encouraged me to do something positive.

UNHCR's cluster approach involves assigning responsibilities by sector to lead organizations and developing clusters of relevant partners to develop preparedness and response capacity. Uganda is one of the pilot countries where the cluster approach is being tested for IDPs. With this background, it was evident that I was among the first to work on the new programme. This called for a lot of mentoring and guidance with regard to operation and programme areas.

The work was characterized with a lot of challenges; as much as UNHCR was the protection cluster lead agency, the office was established after other UN agencies and NGOs had been on the ground for some time, and they were conversant with all the protection concerns in the entire district. Coordination with them was essential.

Further to this, our office lacked personnel having just two junior international staff, one national staff, a driver and one car. Despite all the gaps and the challenges, the team spirit we all demonstrated in our office, coupled with encouragement from Peter, enabled us to maintain a balance and the UNHCR operation gradually gained momentum.

We went on the ground advocating freedom of movement and voluntary return, which was quite successful. As time went by, two implementing partners were identified to do return monitoring in collaboration with other operational partners.

Camp coordination, camp management and return monitoring exercises are now on the right track as the security situation and other factors inhibiting people returning to their homes improve. Many IDPs in the 19 mother camps in Kitgum district have either moved from to return sites or back to their villages of origin. There are about 10 camps that have less than 20 percent of their IDPs left, and preliminary camp phase-out activities have begun.

Being the outgoing District Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Focal Point – a position I assumed since the roll out of the cluster in northern Uganda – I am delighted at the progress that UNHCR and the implementing partners the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), AVSI (an Italian NGO) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have made in collaboration with other service provider NGOs and the support of the district and local authorities at the sub-county level.

In the beginning, the 'cluster' concept was not well received. The main dilemma was the explaining why UNHCR was introducing a cluster for management of the camps, while the interests of the people and the Government of Uganda were to see the end of camps and not their maintenance. With continuous consultation and presentations about the objective of the CCCM cluster, it was finally embraced. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

As my UNV volunteer contract ends on 30 June 2008, I am encouraged by the efforts I have made in changing peoples lives. I have gained a wealth of experience in the protection and assistance areas. I am indebted to UNHCR in and to the UNDP office for supporting the UNV programme. Even though I am leaving Uganda, I have an emotional attachment to the people I worked with in the north. We all come from the same roots, following the immigration history of the Luos, and it gives me satisfaction to have positively contributed to change lives among my own people.

A personal message from Perez Abeka: To my family members and my children Peggy and Elvis – you always give me a reason to give my very best in whatever I do and I thank you for your encouragement and endurance. Finally, I am grateful to my colleagues and those who supported me in one way or the other; and my gratitude goes to the great UNV Country Office under the UNV Programme Officer Patrick Mwangi Mathenge for being there during times of high and low tides. The team has been such an inspiration and an encouragement. I am going out strong and I am proud to be part of the great UNV family.