Exhibition – I want to become president» – South-sudanese children drawings from Kiryandongo Refugee Camp, Uganda.

From March 16 the Museum presents an exhibition with drawings and messages by children and young from Southern Sudan who are living in the refugee camp Kiryandongo in Bweyale, Uganda. Uganda is among the countries in the world which houses most refugees and NGO’s are working around the clock to accommodate the thousands fleeing conflicts in neighboring southern Sudan. The exhibition also includes a series of photographs of the children in the refugee camp and their nearest surroundings. The material collected by Norwegian YWCA- YMCA scouts through its aid organization YWCA–Global is a joint collaboration with the local organization YWCA, South Sudan.

YWCA South Sudan with its volunteers are heavily involved in efforts to help the thousands who have been displaced because of the war in the country. People who themselves have been displaced help with schools, children’s groups and therapy trauma treatment where international aid organizations does not reach. Drawing as a way to express yourself is actively used as a tool to cope with things the children have been through. he YWCA organized an exhibition inside the refugee camp, where they get communicated their thoughts, feelings and experiences. This is an very important work, and drawings reflect that many of these children have experienced things no one should ever experience, -but also about hope and optimism and a dream that one day things will be fine.

Visual art helps us connect and give back to the Children.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) children are not just passive recipients who are entitled to adult protection and care. They also have the right and claim to be heard -and be taken seriously. With this exhibition the Museum aims to raise awareness on how war and conflict seriously affects children and young – and how art as a tool and safe form of self-expression can teach us about important human values, pain and resilience.

FACTS;
• Six million south sudanese, over half the country’s population, need humanitarian aid.

• At the end of June 2016 nearly 230,000 people from South Sudan were registered as refugees in Uganda. Between July and August close to 56,000 new refugees came from South Sudan to Uganda. Of these, more than 85 percent are women and children.

• The total number of refugees who have fled from southern Sudan to neighboring countries since December 2013 is near 900,000.

• In addition, over 1.6 million people are displaced inside the country. A total number of 2.6 million people are forced to flee to and from the world’s newest state. Thus, Southern Sudan is among the countries with the greatest proportion of the population to flee.

source; UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Figures per 01.08.2016

Photo; YWCA-YMCA-Global