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Meet COYOTA co-founder, Benson Wejere originally from Democratic Republic of Congo
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In this episode of the podcast, Helen and Habiiba are joined by Benson Wereje, co-founder of CIYOTA. CIYOTA is a youth-led movement that supports the refugee population living in camps in Uganda. Most of the refugees come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as South Sudan. Benson talks about his life as a refugee fleeing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the age of sixteen to arrive at a refugee camp in Uganda. In this camp, he was one of only three students out of thousands to attend secondary school. He struggled with extreme hunger and exhaustion but his faith spurred him to return back to the camp to help others in the same position. In 2005, he co-founded CIYOTA.
This episode touches on many of the challenges that arise in the refugee camp and how these are being dealt with. This includes the variety of languages spoken by the refugees, the high dropout rates between primary and secondary school, early teenage pregnancy, and the desire of refugees to resettle instead of returning back home. These issues are matched with innovative programmes including women’s education, microfinance, and agrobusiness.
THIS EPISODE BEGINS WITH SOME HARROWING DETAILS OF BENSON’S EARLY LIFE. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO LISTEN, PLEASE SKIP THE FIRST 4 MINUTES 32 SECONDS.
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