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Children engage in Catch-up club activities at a Primary School in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Uganda

Catch up Clubs are based on TaRL (Teaching at the Right Level) and were initially introduced as response to Uganda’s children experiencing the longest school closures in the world as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. Catch Up Club classes are conducted for two hours five days a week by a community learning facilitator who is identified by the community and trained by Save the Children. They have been running since 2021. They begin at 2pm. Catch-up Club session lasts 90 – 120mins. The children are aged 12-16. Children choose a name for their club and they were assessed to establish their literacy skills and learning level. During sessions, facilitators support children to learn using play-based levelled activities. In October 2022, HRH The Princess Royal as Patron of Save the Children, visited our work overseas for the first time in five years. Visiting an Education Centre in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Uganda to see the school’s Catch-up Club activities following one of the longest school closures due to the pandemic. The trip also provided the opportunity for The Princess Royal to visit one of our Child Friendly Spaces and to attend a Save the Children lunch with local staff, donors, partners and supporters at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. Esther Ruth Mbabazi / Save The Children

REFUGEE CHILDREN AND RESPONSIBILITY SHARING: KEY PRIORITIES FOR THE GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM

8 Dec 2023 Global

Blog by Andrea Nunez-Flores Rey

Senior Humanitarian Advocacy Adviser, Save the Children International

Blog summarizing the importance of spotlighting the rights and needs of refugee children at the Global Refugee Forum

Children engage in Catchup club activities at a Primary School in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Uganda.Esther Ruth Mbabazi / Save The Children.

We stand side by side with children in the world's toughest places.

As we approach the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in just five days, the urgency to spotlight the rights and the needs of refugee children and emphasize responsibility sharing in discussions about the world's refugee crises could not be more pressing. This fundamental approach sets the tone for processes like the Global Refugee Forum and discussions surrounding the Global Compact on Refugees.

In most refugee crisis, the voices of refugee children are alarmingly muted. Despite constituting 40% of the global forcibly displaced population [1], refugee children encounter numerous barriers, from lack of access to documentation, to quality education, to spaces where they feel safe and protected, hindering their meaningful participation in decision-making processes [2]From 2018 to 2022, 1.9 million children were born as refugees [3] disregarding their voices is tantamount to sidelining the majority of the refugee population.

Moreover, three-quarters of refugees live in low- and middle-income countries, mostly neighbouring their place of origin. Countries like Türkiye, Islamic Republic of Iran, Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda or Sudan among other low and middle-income countries, disproportionately bear the responsibility of hosting 76% of the world's refugees [4] despite their limited resources. In Uganda, 60% of refugees are children,[5] illustrating the acute need to address the specific challenges faced by this vulnerable demographic within the refugee population.

For comprehensive solutions, the narrative needs a radical pivot—one that prioritizes the rights, needs and perspectives of refugee children, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Failure to integrate these voices perpetuates inadequate representation and undermines policy formulation.

Despite this imperative, major refugee responses and forums like the GRF often falter in adequately championing refugee children’s voices. Simultaneously, nations hosting large number of refugees consistently advocate for fairer responsibility sharing, underscoring the need to acknowledge their disproportionate burden and resource strain.

All four objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees profoundly impact childhood and host countries. Any viable plan or solution must inherently include this 40% of the refugee population—children, and the countries hosting the largest number of refugees.

In essence, the upcoming GRF serves as a pivotal juncture to instigate this transformative approach—where responsibility sharing and the meaningful inclusion of refugee children form the cornerstone of robust, inclusive, and politically astute responses to the global refugee crisis.

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