"We are just kids. We need someone. We are all young. It's not easy."
Congolese refugee Jules*, 17, looks after his two sisters and three of his cousins alone in Uganda.
Don't leave these children behind
Orphaned, lost, cut off from their families - unaccompanied refugee children in Uganda need your care and protection.
Jules* is a 17-year-old refugee caring for his two sisters and three of his cousins on his own in Uganda. Tragically, his mother passed away in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Jules was forced to drop out of school in 2023 to care for the others. His responsibilities weigh on him heavily.
"I need to provide food and take care of my siblings," he says. "I want to go back to school for a better future, a better life, happiness. We are just kids. We need someone. We are all young. It's not easy."
UNHCR and partners are working tirelessly to identify unaccompanied children, provide them with shelter and basic aid, and help them find loving foster homes or reunite with their relatives. But the need is great - and with hundreds of arrivals every month, it's only growing.
Every child deserves a childhood. But refugee children like Jules are missing out on these precious years.
Please donate now to open the door to safety for refugee children on their own.
Your donation in action
Please give generously to protect and uplift unaccompanied refugee children in Uganda - they're counting on you.
Your generous gift can help identify unaccompanied children and place them in loving foster homes. Your gift can also provide children with essentials like blankets, soap and clothing; give them access to healthcare and psychological support; and help them return to school.
After fleeing horrific violence, many refugee children arrive at the border with little more than the clothes on their backs. Your gift can provide essential supplies such as blankets, soap, clothing and mosquito nets.
You can help children return to school; support sport and recreation activities that empower children to find friends and freedom; and offer psychological support to help children cope with trauma.
Your gift can help reunite children with their loved ones. When this isn't possible, your donation can help place vulnerable children with trusted foster families that offer shelter, care and protection.
"I like to read and sometimes I help in the bakery. I would like to become a businesswoman. Mama Ella is my inspiration."
Sudanese refugee Leila*, 6, lives with her loving foster mother, Ella*, who runs a small bakery in Kampala.
*Name changed for protection reasons
Our fundraising impact
The majority of funds raised by Aotearoa New Zealand for UNHCR are directed to UNHCR’s emergency operations, providing the ready funds and resources to respond quickly and effectively in situations of crisis and disaster.