Save the Children Patron HRH The Princess Royal visits refugee settlement in Uganda

Uganda currently hosts 5 million refugees – the largest refugee population in Africa. Due to the ongoing conflict in the DRC, thousands of refugees have crossed the border into Uganda this year. [1]

In March 2020, schools across the country shut down as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. Uganda kept schools fully or partly closed for over a year and a half, meaning children in Uganda faced the world’s longest school closure due to the pandemic. [2] To help children successfully return to school, Save the Children launched Catch-up Clubs to accelerate the recovery of lost learning.

Her Royal Highness visited a school in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement where she joined a Save the Children Catch-up Club and took part in an activity with children to work together and build a story from pictures. Later that day, The Princess also met children who have fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict in the DRC and are being supported by Save the Children’s child protection activities at a Child Friendly Space.

Dragana Strinic, Country Director of Save the Children Uganda said:
“It was an honour to host Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal today to raise awareness of the impact that conflict and Covid-19 school closures are having on millions of children in Uganda. Due to the ongoing conflict, Save the Children’s Catch-up Clubs have been a lifeline for children growing up in Kyangwali refugee settlement.

Without these clubs, some of these children may never have returned to school.”

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has supported Save the Children for over fifty years. Queen Elizabeth II was a patron of the charity for 65 years. During this time they have both inspired thousands of supporters, volunteers, and staff, and highlighted the needs of some of the most disadvantaged children.

HRH The Princess Royal became the Patron of Save the Children UK in 2017 after serving as the charity’s President since 1970. The Princess Royal spends a significant amount of time visiting Save the Children’s projects, both overseas and in the UK. She has travelled to Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over a quarter of a billion children are out of school globally and a record number of children – 1 in 6 – are living in war zones around the world. The Children’s Emergency Fund allows Save the Children to support children growing up in conflict and help children keep learning in times of crises.

About Save the Children NZ:

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction, and alleviating child poverty.