Umoja Rescue Agency (UREA) established in December 2011 as an independent local non-profit non-government organization with it’s headquarter in Koboko District-Uganda is legally registered with Uganda Registration Service Bureau (Registration number 80020001800126) on 7th day of May 2019. Umoja Rescue Agency (UREA) was formerly known as Umoja Development Association (UDA) which emanates from a Neighborhood Assembly (NA) modelled by group of young men and women who support community rehabilitation and reconstruction and promote human rights and social economic wellbeing and free people from poverty.

Why the youth established the organization is because of the fact that people of Northern Uganda and West Nile lived in exile and suffered internal displacement for more than decades due to civil war and conflicts between government of Uganda and armed rebel groups that led to loss of life, destruction of productive property and retarded development. The geographical location of the region places it among hard-to-reach regions in Uganda that further contributed to its marginalization, insecurity, and pressure on resources and land. Additionally, because of civil unrests from neighboring countries, West Nile and Northern Uganda continues to host mass influx of refugees from countries like South Sudan, and DR Congo with insufficient resources provided. The region is also battling with climate change effects resulting from environmental degradation, youth unemployment, teenage pregnancy/early marriages that affects education of girls and boys, access to Sexual reproductive health information and services is limited and often unfriendly, HIV/AIDS, sexual gender based violence, inadequate access to economic opportunities and poverty.

Since then, the organization devoted itself in mobilization of communities and rehabilitating them to recover from the effects of insurgencies, economic hardship and demand for justice and better service delivery. As noted, still many people in Uganda and worldwide are unable to enjoy their rights and social-economic wellbeing due to political, social, cultural, environmental and legal obstacles. This is even truer with individuals fleeing armed conflict or searching for safe refuge in Uganda and elsewhere.