You have probably heard of many expressions regarding home, such as “Home can be anywhere you
make it[..]”; however it is difficult to make a new place your home when you had no other choice than
to leave your initial home.
According to UNHCR every 3 seconds, one person is forced to leave their own home due to war,
oppression, or human rights violation. It is essential to emphasize that women occupy half of the
displaced population. The most vulnerable among them are specifically young girls, pregnant women,
disabled and elderly women, etc.
At Choose Yourself, we believe and fight for racial and gender equity. Therefore, we want to give a
liberated platform to every woman or person identifying as a woman, we do not want to have anyone
left behind most importantly refugees.
It is in that perspective that Home Away from Home was created. The initiative is a refugee integration
program in which refugees get the opportunity to be emancipated in any way they want to.
We are currently operating in Nakivale Refugee Camp in Uganda, where we have several pilot projects
going on.
There is a library to bring awareness on the reading culture and as a way for the refugees to find an
escape in the midst of their struggles. Also, we started sponsoring 5 children to go to school outside the
refugee camp since the free school within the refugee settlement is at full capacity. In addition, we want
to give young refugee girls opportunities to be self-employed and capable of being financially
independent by introducing them to entrepreneurship workshops this year.
We believe through a focused, concerted, and prolonged effort we can make the world a better,
more equitable place for all those who identify as women.
We encourage anyone interested in supporting the program to get in touch with us so as to learn about the ways to get involved.
By Lydia Kanyambo. N.
Program Director
