© Australia for UNHCR/Hugh Rutherford
The smallest survivors
Refugee children are fleeing conflict and persecution on their own.
Refugee children are fleeing conflict and persecution on their own.
In the chaos of war, children often become separated from their families and have to flee on their own.
These children are known as unaccompanied or separated children - and they are some of the world's most vulnerable.
In Uganda, 200 refugee children are arriving on their own each month. They are fleeing horrific violence in countries such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In many cases, their parents have been killed, abducted, or have simply disappeared. Often, UNHCR is the only place these children can turn to for help.
With your generous support, UNHCR can provide unaccompanied or separated children with life-saving assistance. From finding trusted foster carers, to providing vital psychological support, to reuniting children with their families - your gift can change a child's life.
All children's lives are equally precious. But war and displacement are stealing so much from refugee kids.
Please donate generously - vulnerable children urgently need your help to survive.
Congolese refugee Jules*, 17, looks after his two sisters and three of his cousins alone in Uganda.
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.
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.
Sudanese refugee Leila*, 6, lives with her loving foster mother, Ella*, who runs a small bakery in Kampala.
*Name changed for protection reasons
The majority of funds raised by Australia 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.