“I want to be a financial tycoon and I wish to work in a big cooperate bank”
Bchiote Moorice, a refugee child, aspires to become a big corporate banker
Bchiote Moorice (20) is currently studying in grade 11 at Bambasi Refugee Camp at the Womba Refugee School. She left her native country, Congo, in 2010 with her 3 brothers when she was 9 years old due to intensified conflict. She explains how tough their journey was to Uganda, as they had to travel without enough food or water, or the basic services required for survival. At times, there was no shelter during their travel, to arrive in Uganda. After arrival in Uganda, they sought asylum and stayed in a refugee camp.
After arrival, her life in camp was difficult, and she had to adjust to her new life in Uganda. Bchoite’s siblings, joined by their parents, made Uganda their second home for a couple of years, but later left for Ethiopia, where they arrived in the Sherkole Refugee Camp in Benishangul-Gumuz in 2016, one of the oldest refugee camps in western Ethiopia.
“My life in Sherkole Refugee Camp was at first not that simple; it was very difficult for me to adapt to the food and the new culture,” said Bchiote.
Later, Bchiote and her family had to move to the Bambasi Refugee Camp. where her two younger sisters were born.
Bchiote said that schooling in both Sherkole and Bambasi refugee camps was not easy for her, as English is not the medium of instruction in both primary and secondary schools and most use Amharic in the classroom. Moreover, there are not enough books and supplementary materials for learning. However, despite her challenges, Bchiote became determined and willing to learn and her grades started to improve, which made her happy to continue her studies. She eventually became one of the top-ranking students in class.
Bchiote has benefited from the UNICEF Ethiopia Building Self Reliance Programme, which was implemented in five refugee-hosting regions (including Tigray, Afar, Somali Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz) to provide integrated WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), Health, Nutrition, Education and Child Protection services for refugees and vulnerable host communities.
This Building Self Reliance Programme (BSRP) in Bambasi refugee camp– funded by UKAID and Education Cannot Wait (ECW) - has reached up to 146,401 refugees and 536,329 host community members across all five regions.
For Bchiote, education for refugee children is a life-changing opportunity. Children living in countries affected by emergencies lose not only their loved ones and homes, but also access to safe drinking water, health care, food, and safety. Above all, without access to education, they risk losing their future.
The Womba Refugee School where Bchiote studies was built in 2018 to accommodate 600 students, but it is currently hosting 1,200 refugees and host community children. This doubling of the student population affects students’ performance, as there are not enough books and other facilities like computers.
Nevertheless, Bchiote Moorice is an incredibly determined student with ambitious goals: she hopes to attend university one year from now, rise from poverty, have a stable life, and join the middle class.
“I want to be a financial tycoon and I wish to work in a big cooperate bank,” says Bchiote with a big smile.
