World BEYOND War Has Launched a New Chapter in Isingiro Nakivale, Uganda

By Guy Feugap, Africa Organizer, World BEYOND War, May 29, 2025

A new World BEYOND War chapter was launched at the Nakivale refugee settlement in western Uganda, located in the Isingiro district, near the Tanzanian border, approximately 200 kilometers from Kampala. The camp is divided into three administrative zones: Basecamp, Juru, and Rubondo, and includes 74 villages with over 51,132 households. As the oldest refugee camp in Africa, Nakivale continues to receive new arrivals due to insecurity and ongoing war in neighboring countries. Most refugees in the camp come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, though the population is highly diverse. This diversity, while rich in potential for peace, has also led to challenges such as discrimination, violence, and internal conflict within the settlement. Uganda has a long history of hosting refugees, including Polish refugees during World War II and Rwandan refugees since the 1959 anti-Tutsi uprisings.

The camp is managed by a Settlement Commandant with semi-autonomous authority. The increasing number of incoming refugees has strained camp resources, contributing to poverty, food shortages, and deforestation (the main cause of drought in the area). Overcrowding has also led to faster spreading of diseases such as malaria and typhoid. As of May 2025, according to UNICEF Uganda, food rations have been slashed, with monthly support to the equivalent of USD $4.9 per person per month for highly vulnerable refugees and USD $2.70 per person per month for moderately vulnerable refugees.

In response to these challenges, a group of eleven dedicated volunteers from the Nakivale camp, working together through a community-based group called New Talent for the Best Future coordinated by Norbert Byambo Kagosi, created the Isingiro Nakivale chapter of World BEYOND War to break the cycle of violence and discrimination among refugees. With seven different nationalities represented in Nakivale, the chapter is committed to promoting peace education, nonviolence, and mutual respect. The group members aim to send a strong message to African leaders to stop investing in war and weapons, and instead to fund peace education and nonviolent initiatives. By addressing the root causes of conflict, they hope to inspire a new generation of peacebuilders. Their main goals are to provide educational support to reduce illiteracy among orphans and vulnerable children, to offer education and vocational training for refugees and to help make the world a better and more inclusive place for all.

Nakivale is home to a vibrant but vulnerable population, representing various cultures, nationalities, languages and traditions. While this diversity offers the possibility of building peace, it has also created divisions and conflict. Addressing these challenges is crucial to achieving lasting peace. The World BEYOND War chapter’s mission is to contribute to ending war in Africa and globally, while promoting peaceful coexistence in and around the Nakivale camp. This chapter brings people together to sing the song of peace through education and activism, especially for refugee children, youth and communities. The chapter envisions a world where universal love and peace reign, where religion does not divide people and everyone lives in harmony. In such a world, children are free to laugh, play and grow in peace and light. The members will work to raise the talents and skills of young leaders and peacebuilders in Nakivale camp, to empower youth through education and diverse skills for self-development.