Understanding imperatives for total school enrolment and retention among refugees: the somasoma initiative in nakivaale refugee camp in southwestern Uganda.

Abstract

Refugee children, most especially girls, are more likely to miss school or to fail to invest the required level of concentration to be able to learn (Meyer et al., 2019). The extent to which refugees build the necessary resilience to mitigate their situations, particularly those that affect children’s education is important to understand. This chapter examines critical imperatives for initiating, stimulating, and sustaining refugee interest to pursue good education outcomes for their children. It also examines factors that serve to undermine refugee resilience towards education and recommends strategies and alternatives for sustainable access to, and utilization of, basic education services for refugee children. It is informed by a detailed case study of a community‐based school readiness program in three communities in Nakivaale Refugee settlement in South‐Western Uganda. The case study involved meetings and interviews with refugee parents/ caregivers; leaders of community‐based services; community leaders; initiators/promoters of the education initiative; and instructors on the programme.