31st January 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
Link to the PDF 20250131 A Year With CML200
Unspoken voices of women in Maaji Refugee Settlments
By Sr. Julienne Bouda, Ukusijoni Community, Uganda Amidst the large population of Maaji Refugee Settlements, the majority are children, women and youth, with fewer men. Some are widows, but others have husbands in South Sudan who are working to help their families in Uganda, which is sometimes not obvious. So women remain the breadwinners. This is a challenge for many who try their best to earn a living by doing casual work, renting land for farming, brewing the local beer or relying on the little or nothing their husbands can send. This makes it very difficult to provide for their children’s formal education, health, food and clothing. A family in Maaji is made up of relatives, but also of adopted orphaned children who were separated from their families while fleeing the war. Nowadays, life is even harder for the refugee women, as the UNHCR ratios are…