| Summary: | Abstract
This study, carried out in January 2007, examines the impact of social networks on
income generation among self-settled Sudanese refugees living in Koboko, in North-
West Uganda. A snowballing sampling technique has been used to identify respondents
and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. The study aims to answer the research
questions; what are the sources of income for refugees? What is the role of (or are the
roles) of social networks in finding jobs? Are strong or weak links more important in this
process? The study explores why refugees opt to move to Koboko instead of the refugee
camps or why they later leave refugee camps, and examines how the now self-settled
refugees generate income and what role social networks play in this process.
The study covers literature on the following themes; migration and displacement among
refugees, social networks/social capital, social networks and income generation,
livelihoods, and urban refugees’ livelihoods.
The study reveals that refugees leave settlements because of security, jobs and education.
Refugees generate income in various ways; paid employment, small businesses and
through remittances. Of the 20 interviewees, majority attest to making money through
social networks- mainly kin ties. A minority believe that social networks play an
insignificant role in how they make money and emphasised that they got formal
employment on merit. The research was carried out a year after the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army and the government
of Sudan. As a result, relative peace has returned to South Sudan and there is a need for
skilled manpower, a point the respondents use when arguing that their qualifications and
not social ties were responsible for their current jobs.
In conclusion, this study revealed that refugees pulled on their strong ties a lot more than
on their weak ties to settle in and gain access to income generation, thus validating the
hypothesis in this study that; the weaker the social ties, the less beneficial to income
generation among refugees. The stronger the social ties the more beneficial to income
generation among refugees.
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