Draft:Refugee-Led Organisation Network Uganda

Refugee-Led Organisation Network (RELON) Uganda is a not-for-profit organization aimed at strengthening the capacity of refugees to engage and respond to the challenges faced by refugees and refugee-led organisations in the country.

History
RELON was founded in May 2016 by four organisations that included; Hope of Refugees in Action (HRA), Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID), Hope of Children and Women Victims of Violence (HOCW), and Coburwus International Youth Organisation to Transform Africa (CIYOTA).

Mandate and structure
The works of the Refugee-Led Organisation Network Uganda include; advocacy, access to opportunities and addressing registration challenges amongst the refugees in Uganda especially those living in urban areas.The Network can also include non-refugees in the board and management teams but the main decision makers and founders have to be having a displacement background.

Activities
RELON Uganda engages in advocacy of refugees in the country by networking with local authorities that iingclude the State Minister for Relief and Disaster in Uganda and, institutional partners like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) among other partners.

RELON also provides orientation and information related to the way of living for the refugees upon their arrival in the city. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the network provided aid to refugee communities by distributing soap, masks, water and alformation about the virus.