Ugandan Government Lauds Young Refugees for Pioneering Mass Production of Face Masks

He expressed his confidence that the Don Bosco VTC was set to produce able trainees drawn from both refugees and locals who, he said, would bring peace and harmony to the area.

The Minister’s sentiments were echoed by Mr. Charles Uma, the Chief Administrative Officer of Lamwo district.

Mr. Uma said that when the lockdown was declared in Uganda on March 18, he received a generous supply of Face Masks from Don Bosco VTC for use by vulnerable members of the district.

The July 8 event was graced by the Minister in charge of refugees in Uganda with participation of top officials from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and several leaders of the region, according to Fr. Lazar Arasu, the Director of Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Services who wrote to ACI Africa about the event.

“Everyone unanimously wanted the event to be held at Don Bosco VTC as it pioneered in the production of face masks,” the member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) said, and added, “School facilities were used for the project and production was solely done by our vocational trainees.”

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“It is not an exaggeration to say that with very limited resources we started producing masks and did free distribution to the refugees and community workers such as police, army, local leaders and medical workers,” the Indian-born Cleric who has been in East Africa for three decades said.

Madam Felicitas Nebril, Regional head of UNHCR lauded the refugee students together with the members of SDB based at the Palabek Refugee Settlement for their hard work and said they had beaten their host in their pace-setter role.

Nebril said that the refugees’ willingness to participate in the socio-economic activities of their host country was admirable.

“You have indeed become a model to the host community,” the UNHCR official said and encouraged the youthful refugees to continue setting a good example by wearing the masks to maintain the zero status of COVID-19 infection at the camp.

The UNHCR launch came three months after the Don Bosco VTC started making the COVID-19 protection face masks.

In an earlier interview, Fr. Arasu told ACI Africa that refugees who attend the Don Bosco VTC that hugely serves refugee populations in the East African nation embarked on the making of the face masks the moment the country announced closure of learning institutions in the country.

Since the onset of the project, a group of 20 girls at the Don Bosco VTC has successfully produced at least 10,000 face masks of different shapes and sizes, which the SDB Priest says are given out for free.

The Salesian Missionary Priest who has ministered in Uganda for about two decades expresses gratitude to the partners in the various projects run by the missionaries among refugees in Uganda, a country lauded for being the most hospitable to vulnerable refugees in the region.

“Salesians are grateful to Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit (JuWe) our main service partner and other local supporters, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, CESVI, Trocaire, AVSI, and LWF for the material and logistic support,” Fr. Arasu said.

The production of face masks is one of the ways that SDB members have employed to keep young refugees in Uganda engaged during the COVID-19 lockdown. Those who participate in these activities are given a stipend to sustain them, Fr. Arasu told ACI Africa.

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Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.