THE RISE OF BIDIBIDI

RESPLENDENT in a handmade African print dress and a black hijab – a square scarf covering her head and neck, a mid aged girl in her early 30s emerges from a rub hall, a relocatable tent-like structure common in humanitarian spaces, erected at a Food Distribution Point in one of the zones in Bidibidi refugee settlement, carrying a stash of papers with names of would-be beneficiaries of the in-kind food items, in the background is a group of World Vision staff clad in an orange and white patched jacket weighing food on a digital scale, one elderly man who supervises the team as a food monitor stands with hands akimbo taking note of the slightest deviations on the weighing scale.

The UN agency, The World Food Programme (WFP) heavy duty trucks park in a certain rank and file within the open field, one of those 10 tonne trucks was being driven by a foreigner, you could tell by his accent and looks that he is a Somali, with mouth full of khat, his discolored teeth and a toothpick stuck on the cusp of his lips, one of his checks is replete with a ball of khat that he is chewing intermittently, The WFP works during emergencies and longer-term crises to provide food to displaced people around the world, especially vulnerable groups such as women and children with the hope that one day the food-related activities will build refugee self-reliance, the assistance is designed to maintain a sound diet through a balanced and culturally acceptable food basket, the food items consisted of cereals, pulses, Corn Soya Sugar Blend, Oil, and salt. 

The refugees are queuing up in two endless and disorganized lines, majority of them are grasping polyethylene sacks while a few elderly women have huge saucepans. as soon as the food distribution exercise is ended, droves of vehicles are seen driving out of the settlement some with merchants, traders and food items bought from refugees who would have preferred cash assistance instead, such is the dilemma that humanitarians agencies face, the much needed aid is often times abused by the very beneficiaries it is supposed to help with multiple reports of vandalized temporary latrines to stolen solar lamps among others.

ON AUGUST 12, 2016, one of the most protracted conflicts the world had ever seen boiled into a full-fledged war that has since claimed the lives of over 300,000 people, displaced more than 250,000 men, women, and children, and brought about unprecedented suffering of monumental proportions in South Sudan. 

Tragically, the conflict has resulted into thousands of families being forced to leave their homes because of attacks by non-state armed groups. Extreme violence and displacement have had a devastating impact on the population. People have witnessed their loved ones being killed, beheaded, and raped, and their houses and other infrastructure burned to the ground. Men and boys have also been forcibly enrolled in armed groups. Livelihoods have been lost, and education stalled while access to necessities such as food and healthcare has been hampered. Many people have been re-traumatized after being forced to move multiple times to save their lives. 

One such place that the south Sudanese refugees sought refugee in Uganda was Bidibidi refugee settlement.

Bidibidi refugee settlement in Yumbe district covering an area of approximately 250 square kilometers, an area larger than the size of cook island – a nation in the South Pacific, the settlement is sandwiched between two districts of Terego and Obongi and was established in August 2016 to host the rapid influx of South Sudanese refugees fleeing fighting and conflict. The settlement was originally planned to accommodate about 150,000 people but over time, its population has almost doubled to 224,048 people by July 2022, making it one of the settlements holding the largest refugee population in the world. The settlement is divided into five zones with over 84% of its population being women and children.

From being a once underutilized hunting grounds that were uninhabited and not considered choice lands for agriculture by the locals situated within shedloads of low, rolling hills and mostly rocky soils and tumps with rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, the settlement is arguably the largest refugee settlement with a potential to transform into a city or urban town.