Sabuni Francoise Chikunda

Sabuni Francoise Chikunda (born 1970 or 1971) is a Congolese torture survivor, refugee, activist, teacher, and organisation founder, based in Uganda. She was the Africa regional winner of the Nansen Refugee Award in 2020.

Sabuni Francoise Chikunda
Born1970 or 1971
NationalityDemocratic Republic of the Congo
AwardsNansen Refugee Award (Africa regional winner, 2020)

Adult life

Chikunda was attacked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide and was subjected to violence, torture, and rape from militia men who abducted her and held her for years as a slave.[1] After escaping slavery, she fled Congo and arrived as a refugee[2] in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda in June 2017.[1] By the end of 2017 she was volunteering as an English teacher in the school and a counsellor to women.[1]

Chikunda is a community leader[3] and is the founder of the Kabazana women’s centre, which is funded by the American Refugee Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and which opened in 2018.[1] The centre provides career training for women survivors of sexual violence.[4]

Chikunda was the Africa regional winner of the Nansen Refugee Award in 2020.[5]

Chikunda was aged 49 in 2020.[1]

References
  1. Wachiaya, Catherine; Tukundane, Yonna (21 Sep 2020). "Activist turns adversity into a fresh start for refugee women". UNHCR. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  2. Agudo, Alejandra (2020-09-30). ""En los momentos tristes pienso que, sin nuestro trabajo, muchas de las niñas estarían muertas"". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  3. "9 Women Activists Dedicated to Supporting Women". Global Citizen. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  4. "Nansen Refugee Award: All regional winners women for first time". InfoMigrants. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  5. "UNHCR names Nansen Refugee Award regional winners". UNHCR. 2020. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.