What started in 2008 as a small school for orphaned refugees living in Uganda is an operation that now provides education, accommodations, and medical care to over 1,300 refugees and vulnerable children who fled unstable and dangerous conditions in nearby East African countries.
In this interview, the Maine Wire speaks with Byaruhanga Godfrey, or Pastor Godfrey, the founder and executive director of Angels Care Uganda, a non-governmental organization based at a refugee camp in western Uganda.
Godfrey speaks to his experience with Angels Care helping provide humanitarian services to refugees, primarily children from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
[RELATED: Catholic Charities Maine Plans to Resettle 150 Refugees in 100-Mile Radius Around Bangor…]
In recent years, Maine has seen an influx of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., mostly from Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
As of the start of 2024, the City of Portland’s resettlement program had assisted an estimated 4,200 migrants with finding houses or receiving services, such as applying for benefits under the municipal welfare program, General Assistance.
Godfrey, who has worked for nearly three decades with African refugee populations on the continent, had a perspective on Maine and American migrants resettlement policies that runs counter to the views that have dominated politics in Maine’s more liberal city governments.
Godfrey said that the taxpayer money spent on services for migrants living in the U.S. may be better spent as donations to help the refugees living in Uganda, where the cost of living is much lower, and the culture and environment are more similar to their home countries in the region.
[RELATED: MaineHousing Grants Portland $364,000 to Extend City’s Migrant Resettlement Program For 12 Months…]
“I see that money would have an impact on the ground in Uganda, or in other countries hosting refugees — it would do much greater works there, than here [in the U.S.],” Godfrey said.
“As I said, the cost of living here, and the money spent on these refugees, it would serve many refugees where they are in Africa, where they’re being hosted — like in terms of constructing or building a house, a shelter for the refugees — it’s much easier,” he said. “I’ve worked with refugees for almost 30 years, so I know what it means. It would be better for the donor countries to support them from the other side.”
[RELATED: Migrant Resettlement Agency Chronically Over-billed MaineCare, Has Not Repaid Taxpayers: Audit…]
Godfrey said that while resettlement in western countries would be a “durable solution,” to the refugee crisis, the cost of living in the U.S. and Europe is much higher than in Uganda, and that money would be better spent on helping refugees closer to their countries of origin.
“So the durable solution is resettlement, to be resettled in a third country of asylum, where these people are brought to America, Europe, Australia,” Godfrey said. “That would be the durable, the best — everybody would wish to have that durable solution to be brought here [to the U.S.].”
“But of course, that percentage of refugees being brought to [the U.S.] is very minimal, and it’s very expensive,” he continued. “I believe the funds that would cater for 10 refugees here in America, it would cater for about more than 100 people in Uganda.”
Full Interview with Pastor Byaruhanga Godfrey, Founder and Executive Director of Angels Care Uganda
Could you describe the founding of Angels Care Uganda, and what services the organization provides to refugees at the settlement?
Angels Care Uganda was established initially as a school, just a prayer school in 2008, and we started that school after realizing that there was a need to provide quality and affordable education to refugees, especially the orphans and vulnerable children whom I was taking care of.
By then [in 2008], I had 15 children who were orphans, and I was staying with them at the church. And of course, I was feeding them, but they were not studying — feeding children without studying — then they would not have a future, right?
So in order to plan for their future, I started a school, which started like a church school, kindergarten with 35 children. And out of those 35 children, I had also my three. Initially, my children were studying in a private school where I was paying much money.
Then, since I didn’t have enough money to start the school and pay teachers, I had to bring my children from the private schools, and brought them to study here [at Angels Care, so that they can save the money I would have paid for them in private schools to pay for the teachers.
So that’s how the school started, and since then, since 2008, as of today, they will have 1,300 students in that school.
And are most of the students at your school refugees?
Yes, most of them are refugee children, about 80 percent of them — refugees from Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, mainly, and the other 20 percent are Ugandan children.
And when the school grew bigger, of course, we needed the classrooms we needed the more teachers. So I would call the parents to sensitize them about the importance of education, and also asking them if they can do everything possible to contribute towards paying teachers.
[Godfrey said the cost of enrollment at Angels Care Uganda is equivalent to roughly $30 USD per student.]
So after that, I developed an idea of establishing a medical clinic where these children would be treated, because the community of 1,300 students — that’s a very big number of people, they get sick, and I didn’t have money to take them to private clinics, even in the government hospitals there are no drugs in most cases.
So I said, we establish a medical clinic here to help us to treat these children, and even the community around. We have different services there — we do general medicine, we have mothers that deliver from there, we have a dental clinic, we have a laboratory unit where they test.
We promote ‘test and treat,’ that’s why we have the laboratory. We need to test first, then we treat, after knowing what we are supposed to be doing. So we have medical staff who are helping us, doing the work.
Of course, the numbers are also not many, because the more medical staff, the more pay they need. And of course, it is not easy to raise enough funds to pay them. But currently, we have an organization which is called The Forgotten International, based in San Francisco, California, which is paying the staff and also buying medicines.
So that organization in San Francisco is helping fund Angels Care, does your organization get support from the Ugandan government?
No, the government here [in Uganda] does not support Angels Care, we just the contributions from parents. So the parents contribute, and where we encounter a deficit, I ask for [The Forgotten International] to intervene, to give us some money to pay teachers.
Does the Ugandan government support the settlement of refugees in Uganda more generally?
What [the Ugandan government] does in regards to refugees is provide the land, of course, peace and security in the settlement. And it’s the [United Nations] that provides funds through implementing partners, NGOs that implement refugee programs.
Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in Africa. We have in Uganda 1,740,000 refugees, majorly they come from South Sudan, Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, some others from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, some from Liberia — all over.
Uganda is kind of the safe haven for refugees in Africa, and of course is the largest refugee hosting country. But on the other hand, it is the poorest among the poorest countries. So you can imagine, I’ve been telling colleagues that it’s like a butterfly carrying a lion, the burden is too huge on Ugandan shoulders.
So that’s why we come to the well-wishers, partners organizations, we come out to share with people outside Uganda, of Africa, to share with them what is happening.
Would you like to see other countries in the region take on more of the burden of hosting these refugees?
When you talk of the region, do you mean Africa or the entire world?
Well, Africa mostly — but I imagine, when you interact with refugees, probably a lot of them want to travel outside of Africa.
Yeah, outside [of Africa] they would wish to go for a better life. That would be western countries, America, Europe, Australia. But in Africa, a refugee fleeing from Congo to Uganda, then you give him a choice of going to Rwanda to live — It’s like coming from a fire, and you go on a cooking stove.
So things are not easy, it’s like adding more salt in an injury. So the best preference for them would be to be resettled to America or other countries outside Uganda, where they can have services.
Nobody would wish in life to be a refugee, and even if you become a refugee, you would love to go back in your homeland, or your motherland. But here we have three durable solutions to end refugee crisis.
[RELATED: Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine…]
The first solution is to have what you call voluntary repatriation, where a refugee is expected to go back in his motherland. If the country is stable, then the refugee can decide, enough is enough, I’ve been a refugee, met me go back and build my country.
But, for example, in Congo, we have been receiving refugees from Congo since the late 70s, and another influx started in the 90s. Up to now, we receive refugees almost on a daily basis in Uganda. So there is no hope for Congolese to go back home, because there is no peace.
So the other durable solution, the second one, would be local, to be locally integrated in the hosting second country of asylum, which would be Uganda — to remain to live in Uganda, as Congolese, but not dependent on support from the UN, they live like Ugandans.
But of course, Uganda has also its own problems with their people. We don’t have enough resources, we don’t have enough facilities. So Uganda also is not a suitable place for a refugee.
So the durable solution is resettlement, to be resettled in a third country of asylum, where these people are brought to America, Europe, Australia. That would be the durable, the best — everybody would wish to have that durable solution to be brought here [to the U.S.].
But of course, that percentage of refugees being brought to [the U.S.] is very minimal, and it’s very expensive. I believe the funds that would cater for 10 refugees here in America, it would cater for about more than 100 people in Uganda.
The cost of living here is too high, so I would wish, if there would be a possibility the donors, the donor community, if there would be a possibility of raising funds that supported these people from the countries where they are taking asylum.
Because if the education system [in Uganda] would be set, they build houses, they raise funds for the construction of classrooms, staff quarters, money to pay for the teachers — I think a refugee would live better, in almost in the same culture between his country and the the hosting country.
So he’s not detached from his culture — it would be better to be facilitated in the countries where they are currently staying.
It sounds like what you’re saying is it would be cheaper for people in these western countries to donate to places like Uganda, where that dollar will go further towards funding schools, hospitals, in that local area, where they already are and are closer to their culture?
Yeah, I see that money would have an impact on the ground in Uganda, or in other countries hosting refugees — it would do much greater works there, than here.
As I said, the cost of living here, and the money spent on these refugees, it would serve many refugees where they are in Africa, where they’re being hosted — like in terms of constructing or building a house, a shelter for the refugees — it’s much easier.
I’ve worked with refugees for almost 30 years, so I know what it means. So it would be better for the donor countries to support them from the other side.
[Godfrey said the average refugee living in the Ugandan settlement lives on $3 per 30 days.]
What do you make of U.S. immigration policy as it pertains to refugees and asylum-seeking migrants?
I don’t know the politics of America, but there should be policies — of course, people will always try their their ways to look for greener pastures, but there should be ways.
It’s like in Uganda, we receive refugees who come in an influx, who come in a big number. And those ones, when they come, they are granted automatic status, which is called prima facie.
Then there are those who are asylum seekers. You come, then you are interviewed, right? Why did you come from Congo, if you came from Liberia, why did you cross those countries and end up in Uganda?
So you were interviewed, either you can be eligible for a status or you can be denied. So there should be a policy to control in and out…that’s what we do in Uganda…[..]…you categorize, you classify, what kind of asylum seeker.
How successful have the refugees been at integrating into Ugandan society?
It hasn’t been successful because Uganda also does not have the capacity. For someone to be integrated, you should have access to education, you should have access to health services, access to safe water — all those things of which Uganda has not the capacity, unless Uganda is supported by the donor community to put those in place.
That’s why I’m saying that maybe — as we know that all refugees may not be settled to Uganda — but part of the funding that would facilitate the refugees here, maybe 5 percent for those who are being settled here, then the other funding should support the Ugandan government, to support the refugees from the settlements to live.
Of course, the needs, the education, water, the sanitation, roads, all those things that would make someone live a better life — and it’s all about funding, if funds are there, the government of Uganda has the best refugee policy globally.
Can you share any success stories from refugee children that have gone through the Angels Care school?
Yes, one I know, one of the girls who was a refugee girl from Rwanda. She studied in Uganda, in the refugee camp. She went through all levels up to the university, she’s now a doctor, working with the Ministry of Health in Uganda. That is successful, and she went through my hands.
And even her brother and sister, also, they are now graduates, all of them. So we have a number of those people who have really done well.
Also among the orphans I took care of, there is one younger boy I took through [primary school] then he joined a university. Since I had no money and she was being he was being helped by a missionary couple from Canada…I advised him to go for a teaching course for two years.
So he went for a teaching certificate. He graduated, when he came back — he was among other refugees whom I was looking after — when he came back, he started teaching at Angels Care. He became the patron of the other orphans, teaching them.
What do you see as the long-term vision of Angels Care Uganda? What initiatives is the organization working on currently?
Formerly, I was working with the government of Uganda as one of the leaders in the settlement, and the time came when I resigned from government so that I can concentrate on the humanitarian work to help these refugees.
It’s like helping people, praying for people to be in good health, it’s may prayer. In my life, it’s like a fish in the water. If it is out of water, then that is it. So after starting the NGO Angels Care, the vision to live, even if I’m no longer there, Angels Care should continue helping refugees, advocating for refugees in Uganda.
And in doing so, we are focusing on economic development, instead of just depending on donations.
Give us money– we buy food, we eat — that is not sustainable and it’s not durable, because many people have we expressed that during COVID, nobody expected COVID, but when COVID came in, most of the donors lost their jobs, lost their business. So now we are looking at what we can do to sustain this, for Angels Care to live longer than depending on donations.
[Godfrey described several economic development initiatives currently being worked on by Angels Care, including the production of milled corn flour, a dietary staple that also supports poultry, cattle and pig farming for refugees.]
Could you elaborate on why you referenced culture as a reason why it may be better not to resettle refugees in western countries?
Yeah of course, we have a common saying, I don’t know if it is known here, we say that ‘east and west, home is the best.’
So ideally, nobody would ever wish to leave his motherland. However much you are poor, you would come, work, and you go back. So yes, these people coming here [to the U.S.], it’s good, but again, you are detaching them from their loved ones. Their culture matters also.
And you find there are some cases where people, like someone of 80 years, an old man, an old woman, settling here in the States. Really, to me, based on what I hear, see, it wouldn’t be fair. It would be better to be facilitated from there, where he’s close to his family or to his culture.
The environment also matters — me, when it rains here, I start praying that, ‘when is it going? When is it going?’
Then another thing, the perception which people have there [in Africa] is totally different. When they are here, they think when you go to America, you are going to just sit and you are given dollars. And they even promise, they promise Heaven and Earth that, ‘I’m going, I will be sending you money every month, dollars, dollars.’
We’ve had issues in Maine where a large number of asylum seekers are transported to small cities, that then have to scramble to find the resources to accommodate them. Do you have any thoughts on balancing the needs of refugees with the local population?
Helping is good, being kind is good. And I’m one of the people who loves to host visitors.
Take care of visitors, but when you are in your family, I’m married, I have a family of 10 children, but yes, I might be willing to do good to people. I take care of the refugees…[…]…but then I also bring in 100 more people to live in my house.
So at the end of the day, my family, biological children, are going to be affected because the resources they would be using to cater for them, for health, education and other things, they are going to be affected, either indirectly or directly, because I’m taking a number that is probably going to affect my economy or my income.
Yes, it’s good America comes, has the hospitality or is so generous, but sometimes, like now, from nowhere, 100 people coming in is going to affect the budget of the city, or of the entire city.
And those who are going to be affected? The taxpayers. So in other words, we are not against hosting people coming in America, but I think there should be a systematic way, a way of allowing people to come.
Actual refugees are supposed to go to the closest safe country to their own.
The US is not it.
And most of the men do just sit around collecting money and protest in Augusta for more.
We taxpayers were never asked if we want our money forcefully taken to provide the life of Reilly for illegals.
I don’t agree that our govt should shuffle that money over to African non profits but lots of people would probably donate voluntarily.
The are g0ing to be slaves to the welfare check. It is the Democrat big business leaders is behind this–they need cheap labor. .And immigrants are the answer
On another note, remember all that money the Clinton foundation raised for the haitians? Neither do the haitians.
Where is all the money allocated to the U.S.A.I.D , International Rescue Committee, the WHO, UNICEF, CARE International, UNHCR, World Food Program, Direct Relief, World Vision and numerous other organizations actually going?
I spent three years in the U.S. Peace Corps back in the 70s. The problems were the same then as they are now. It is IMPOSSIBLE for the U.S., Canada and Australia to absorb millions of African refugees. If the UN were worth a warm bucket of spit (which is being generous), they’d be preventing the corrupt governments and their dictators from becoming wealthy while the people suffer.
I’m not saying it was all rosy when the British, French and Dutch colonized African countries but they did set up schools, hospitals, police forces, built roads, bridges, sewage treatment facilities and access to clean water, etc. The emphasis needs to be toward seating leaders who aren’t corrupt and will look out for the best interest of their people…just like here in the U.S. 😜
A guy like pastor Ugabooboo Godfrey sounds like a perfect “ New Mainer “ and candidate for a lucrative job in the Mills administration . His little side hustle might be a non profit in terms of taxes , but you can bet somebody is getting rich and the tax payers are getting poorer . Let’s see if we can find a million dollars for him somewhere .
Maine has a chance in November to steer the bus in a different direction . I hope we don’t blow it for a feel good moment that could result in taking us over the edge of the cliff.