The increasing levels of e-waste, and improper and unsafe treatment, and disposal through incineration or in landfills pose significant challenges to the environment and human health in refugee settlements in the West-Nile region of Uganda.
Items such as Solar Lamps, Mobile Phones and Radios have been increasingly owned by refugees as primary sources of communication, access to information and lighting at night. However, as devices break down, the demand for the repair and maintenance of those devices is high.
To date, there is just one project organized by IOM, focusing on waste related to solar lamps (Sun bell) in Bidibidi refugee settlement. Still, there were no partners delivering/organizing repair services/cafes to raise awareness on e-waste and repair a wide range of different electronic devices. A report from GPA and UNITAR (Electronic-waste) Management for Off- grid Solar Solutions in Displacement Settings, January, 2022 highlights that E-waste management practices in displacement settings are not present or sufficient in eliminating or reducing health and environmental hazards.
CC4D has been providing repair services through repair café events and training to the refugee youths on e-waste management(repair, reuse and upcycling) aimed at creating awareness on safe disposal of electronics products within rhino camp refugee settlement. We have trained 50(29 males and 21 females) as electronics repair technicians, organized 10 repair cafe's(upto 500 electronics items repaired) and sensitized over 500 refugees and host communities on e-waste management.
Challenges faced:
1- There is still a huge amount of broken items in hands of the refugees and host communities,
2- Logistical challenges (we could not manage to reach villages which are very far).
3- Lack of enough tools and no spare parts.
4- Lack of sufficient electricity at the CC4D repair café center.
There is a need for more awareness concerning the repair, reuse, recycling and disposal of electronics products within rhino camp refugee communities.
We believe that your support will greatly create an impact in rhino camp refugee settlement.
If you wish to support, email on info@cc4duganda.org
Thank you.