A Shelter From War

Since civil war erupted in Sudan in April 2023, nearly 600,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived at Uganda's Kriandongo camp. Located 275 kilometers from Kampala, the camp sits on the outskirts of the town of Biale, where tents line dirt roads stretching into open fields. Here, the story does not end with flight from war — another phase begins, one where days are measured not in hours, but in the weight of loss and the effort to carry on.

Alongside Sudanese refugees, the camp also shelters people from South Sudan, Burundi, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. What binds them across borders is greater than their differences: the shared experience of displacement and the need to begin again.

From Engineering Halls to a Refugee Tent

Hussein Hashim Taiman holds a master's degree in civil engineering. He once served in the civil engineering department of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Today, he sits inside a tent, serving as the head of the Sudanese refugee community at Kriandongo — one of Uganda's largest refugee camps.

He fled the city of Omdurman with his children in May 2023, completing an arduous journey through several countries before arriving at the camp with little but his memories. "This is not the life I imagined," he said. Inside the camp, days are not measured by the clock but by the weight of what has been lost and the effort it takes to go on.

The War That Displaced Millions

Sudan's civil war began in April 2023 as fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). More than two years on, the conflict has driven millions from their homes, making it one of the world's largest displacement crises on record.

Uganda, long known for its relatively open refugee policy, has absorbed a significant share of those fleeing the violence. Kriandongo has become a focal point for that influx. According to UN reporting from the camp, the most pressing challenges residents face include access to basic necessities and the long-term psychological toll of displacement. Engineers now lead community councils. Professionals rebuild from nothing. This is daily life in Kriandongo — and a reminder to the international community that the humanitarian response must keep pace with the scale of the crisis.