Tag: refugeeleadership

  • Education Under Strain: Displaced Children and Local Efforts to Sustain Learning in South Sudan

    Education Under Strain: Displaced Children and Local Efforts to Sustain Learning in South Sudan

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    by

    Emmanuel Arika
    in

    In a temporary classroom made of iron sheets, wooden poles, and bare ground, South Sudanese returnees, internally displaced children, and Sudanese refugee learners sit quietly, focused on their teacher. They are determined to learn with passion and curiosity despite the harsh environment surrounding them. Yet today, hundreds of these learners remain at risk of dropping…

  • True Allyship Doesn’t Ask for Compromise

    True Allyship Doesn’t Ask for Compromise

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    by

    Edmund Page
    in

    In December 2025 I spent five days in Geneva talking to refugee advocates, donors, intermediary organisations and others about funding refugee leadership. Cohere has been able to channel funding to over 100 refugee led organisations in the last decade and it is often assumed that Cohere’s goal is to get as much funding to refugee…

  • In Pursuit of Inclusion Through Relationships

    In Pursuit of Inclusion Through Relationships

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    by

    Ruth Njiri
    in

    “When partnerships are described as rooted in in-person relationships,  or even friendships built over years of shared work, they are often treated as unprofessional. Formal calls for proposals, legally binding contracts, audits, and controls are assumed to be more objective. Through this lens, language around building relationships can seem informal or suspicious.” In part one…

  • Leaning In and Listening from the Ground: Insights from a conference with Rwamwanja refugee farmers

    Leaning In and Listening from the Ground: Insights from a conference with Rwamwanja refugee farmers

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    by

    Micheal Gumisiriza
    in

    “…solutions emerge when we lean in, listen carefully, and co-create with communities. Farmers already know what works and what is possible—they just need space, trust, and support to scale it.” In January, I had, what I can honestly call, the most interesting “conference” I have attended for a very long time. This time it was…

  • Reflections from Geneva on funding flows and the agency gap

    Reflections from Geneva on funding flows and the agency gap

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    by

    Ruth Njiri
    in

    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…

  • Advocating for us without us (Refugee Voices)

    Advocating for us without us (Refugee Voices)

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    by

    Jenny Basika
    in

    By Jenny Basika and Emmanuel Arika Samuel Refugee-led organisations are struggling for recognition, because when we talk about marginalisation in the sector it’s not always about funding but also trust and recognition. Refugee-led groups are often questioned for their capacity and accountability and a lot of mistrust on their core values and being talked about…

  • The Tailors of Kasisa

    The Tailors of Kasisa

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    by

    Micheal Gumisiriza
    in

    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…

  • Participation is Not the Path to Inclusion

    Participation is Not the Path to Inclusion

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    by

    Ruth Njiri
    in

    This is the first blog in a series examining the participation and inclusion of displacement-affected communities in the humanitarian sector. In the humanitarian sector, participation has become a performance. INGOs and other intermediaries use it as proof of accountability and legitimacy to donors, but the way it is structured reveals a system built to preserve…

  • Voices from the Ground: What a Refugee Barber Told Me That No Donor Ever Has

    Voices from the Ground: What a Refugee Barber Told Me That No Donor Ever Has

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    by

    Micheal Gumisiriza
    in

    In this second episode of Voices from the Ground, I return to Nakivale refugee settlement; not with a survey tool, but with curiosity, time, and a willingness to listen. What I encountered wasn’t in reports or logframes, but in quiet, unfiltered conversations with refugees. I had returned to Nakivale in Isingiro District, Western Uganda, as…

  • Voices from the Ground: When Visibility Replaces Value

    Voices from the Ground: When Visibility Replaces Value

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    by

    Micheal Gumisiriza
    in

    In this episode of Voices from the Ground, I explore what it really means to be close to the community; and how trust-building and human relationships can reveal truths that reports and project metrics often miss. Recently, I spent time with a group of refugee women leaders in Rwamwanja settlement. I didn’t go with an…