Elizabeth Nyirarukundo, a 30-year-old mother of five, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in November 2018. She feared for her family’s life after witnessing several incidents of kidnap and murder in her country. With her husband and four children, Elizabeth walked for two days to the Uganda border. The family survived by begging from the people they met on the way. At the border, they were received at Nyakabadde Refugee Transit Camp where they stayed for two weeks. They were then relocated to Kyaka II Refugee Settlement where they lived at the reception centre for a month before being given a plot of land. “Starting a living on a plain piece of land with only a few household items like jerrycans, basins and tarpaulin was challenging,” said Elizabeth.
Like any other family, Elizabeth’s pitched a tent using sticks and tarpaulin in the land that they were given but did not have other household facilities like kitchen, bath shelter and a latrine. Regardless, nature will always require you to improvise and Elizabeth was not any different. She improvised to ensure all facilities were present for her family. Using an old iron sheet for a kitchen, papyrus reeds to set up a bath shelter, and a latrine was tricky. Her only option was using the already existing communal latrines that were far from home. For the children it was difficult, so they resorted to the cat method. This is a practice where an individual digs a small hole defecates and thereafter covers the feaces with soil.