Paper Title
Local Community and Refugee’s Challenges in Isingiro District, Westernuganda

Abstract
This study explored the response of the host community towards the challenges of hosting refugees in Nakivale camp, western Uganda. Using a qualitative research design, 32 participants were purposively recruited in the host community and the refugee settlement. Four focus group discussions each consisting of 6 participants and eight in-depth interviews were conducted. The focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were minute recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically based on the objectives of the study. The findings indicated that, the host communities have developed ways to adapt to refugee crisis. They have built social integration with the refugees’ community; they have resorted to prayer to strengthen them and they have accepted the refugees and always shared with them the little resources such as water, land, education and health available; which have helped the host communities and refugees to share different ideologies, experiences and Futureprospects. The study also revealed that, the host community has both positive and negative perceptions towards refugees. Many participants of the host community were sympathetic and some took advantage of the refugees’ opportunities and benefited substantially from the presence of refugees. The study further revealed that, conflicts between the host community and the refugees are to a larger extent caused by limited and scarce natural resources that are shared. It was reported that the host community does not get aid or support the same way refugees do through refugee agencies, and this implies that, better education, health, and basic livelihood which the host are minimal. Thus, the need for the study Keywords - Refugees, Host Community, Integration, Perception.