Tag: partnerships
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What I Learned from Community-Led Organisations in West Nile
In April 2026, I travelled through the West Nile region of Uganda to meet organisations working within refugee and host communities. We visited many organisations involved in livelihoods, education, peacebuilding, climate action and community protection. Before the visit, I knew that community-led organisations were doing important work. What became clearer to me during the journey…
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Community-Led Early Learning in West Nile Uganda
What happens if overcrowded Early Childhood Development (ECD) schools had access to well-resourced reading clubs and if local organisations received sustained funding to expand their supplementary learning programmes? The truth is, most ECD schools in refugee settings across Uganda’s West Nile region are nowhere close to that reality. Overcrowding undermines the quality of learning and…
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Leadership, Land and Belonging
Regenerative agriculture in refugee settings is often presented as a pathway to sustainability and renewal. Refugee-led organisations are already demonstrating what this can look like in practice. But these examples also raise a deeper question: if regeneration depends on long-term relationships to land, what happens when the people doing the work are not fully allowed…
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Help Without Organisation
How can help be channelled? Should humanitarian aid flow only through an organisation? We (Joseph, Adhiambo, and Jovial) recently spent 10 days travelling through Kampala and southwest Uganda, listening to refugee leaders and having very interesting conversations about how to truly listen to the community and understand the community’s needs. One of our heated discussions…
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‘Are you just going to write one of those reports?’
The question was simple, disarming even. It was our last day in Dadaab after being here for 11 days, spending time with the RLO leaders, listening about their work, their priorities, challenges, and overall telling us about their communities. This was the last field visit; we had just finished introductions on both organisations. There was…
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Reflections from Geneva on funding flows and the agency gap
R-Space returning to Geneva alongside the GRF Progress Review came with something the sector rarely gets right; a programme designed around refugee leadership. Over three days, the space brought together refugee leaders, organisations, and allies across protection, localisation, disability inclusion, climate, economic inclusion, gender, etc and with a clear signal that refugee expertise belongs at…
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The Tailors of Kasisa
From Micheal and Jenny in Rwamwanja In the heart of Rwamwanja refugee settlement, in a small village called Kasisa, Basecamp 2, lives a quiet but remarkable couple; Mr. Bisimwa Mufambali and his wife, Ms. Fifi Balisesa. Their story is not one of large grants or official recognition, but of agency, humility, and the power of…
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Voices from the Ground: Papa Banamazembe – The Man Who Refused to Wait for Help.
In this third episode of Voices from the Ground, I return to Rwamwanja refugee settlement. If you ask almost any refugee in Rwamwanja about “Banamazembe,” you will see a smile. They know the name. Behind it is Gustave Shambui; a man with a walking stick, a ready laugh, and an unshakable belief in the power…
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The Crisis of Humanitarian Partnerships
Lately, I have found myself in countless conversations and sector convenings where the same question keeps surfacing: “Why are partnerships with refugee-led organisations (RLOs) still tokenistic and only pursued when INGOs face funding cuts or operational challenges?” Across the humanitarian sector, the narrative is becoming familiar: RLOs are called upon only when costs need to…
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Why Partnerships Matter: YETA
In the refugee-hosting regions of northern Uganda, Youth Empowerment to Act Peace and Disability Initiative (YETA), based in Imvepi, Terego district, has worked closely with Cohere for many years. Throughout the partnership, they have demonstrated that when local expertise gets effectively resourced, real and sustainable solutions can flourish. Cohere shares YETA’s belief that the most…