{"id":502,"date":"2026-06-17T10:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.wearecohere.org\/?p=502"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:04:12","slug":"what-if-we-told-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.wearecohere.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/what-if-we-told-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What If We Told You\u2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Over the past few months, I have spent time interviewing refugee leaders across East Africa for Cohere\u2019s <\/strong>What If We Told You\u2026<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many ways, these discussions have not been the beginning of something new, but a continuation of a much longer conversation. The culmination of years of listening, reflecting, and debating internally as an organisation, as well as through our partnerships with 84 organisations from across the African continent. That work has been defined by ongoing learning, unlearning, and a steady commitment to building relationships with the individuals and organisations leading change in their communities. It has also been a process of trying to articulate ways of working that the wider sector does not always easily recognise or value. These include building (or prioritising) relationships, trust, agency and leadership that extend beyond conventional ideas of partnership. In many ways, these interviews helped bring those ideas more clearly into focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the things that has always made Cohere feel distinct to me is this emphasis on people, on relationships. Not as a concept, but as a practice. From my first day, almost exactly ten years ago, people would walk into our office (a small garage) on Hanlon Road in Kampala, pull up a seat and talk with us. We always had an open door. There has always been a commitment to staying connected, following and supporting people’s journeys as they evolve. In these interviews, I felt that trust and the benefit of all of that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spoke with leaders I have known for years – people like Julian Kanyonga, who was previously sponsored by Cohere (then Xavier Project) and used to spend almost everyday after school in the library attached to our office in Kampala in 2018. He now leads a refugee-led organisation called Raise Chess Academy in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. I also spoke with George Dralagar, who I first met around 2020 while he was working in a learning hub in Nairobi, teaching digital literacy to young people. Today, he leads Youth Community Voices in Kenya. It is always a privilege to reconnect with them, no longer as participants in our programmes, but as leaders who have nurtured and grown organisations of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“There is a presumption that the desire is to escape poverty, insecurity or crisis. But whilst these realities are urgent and real, it is about something much deeper: having the agency and dignity to define their own futures rather than having them shaped by others.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I also spoke with new partners – people working in refugee-hosting areas far beyond the capital cities I have mostly been based in who are responding to the needs of their communities in deeply contextual and innovative ways. Across all of these conversations, what stood out was the diversity of work, the depth of expertise, the unwavering commitment, and their clear vision for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I went into these interviews with a set of questions about agency, inclusion, and leadership. At their core, they were really questions about what humanitarianism could look like if those closest to the realities were trusted to lead. The conversations went in many directions, but a set of consistent themes emerged. Again and again, people spoke about the gap between what humanitarian systems aim to do and what communities themselves say they need. They talked about the differences in impact, efficiency, relevance, understanding, and ultimately, power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a presumption that the desire is to escape poverty, insecurity or crisis. But whilst these realities are urgent and real, it is about something much deeper: having the agency and dignity to define their own futures rather than having them shaped by others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyibol Racheal, from Refugee Mental Health Network put it simply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if we told you\u2026 we need your trust more than your money?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandra Ndayishimiye, from WOPEDE said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if we told you\u2026 we are the experts of our own lives?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And George Dralagar, from Youth Voice Community said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if we told you\u2026 we don\u2019t want to be included\u2014we want to lead?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are reflections shaped by the lived experience of systems that too often position people as recipients rather than decision-makers. They also point to a deeper challenge for the humanitarian sector, that listening is not the same as sharing power, and consultation is not the same as leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This World Refugee Week, we are sharing these messages through Cohere\u2019s What If We Told You\u2026<\/em><\/strong> campaign. The campaign brings together the voices of refugee leaders from across East Africa to challenge assumptions about aid, inclusion, and expertise. Our question is uncomfortable but simple: What if the people closest to the challenges were trusted to lead the solutions? At Cohere, this question is not abstract. It shapes how we work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We exist to build trusted relationships with refugee-led organisations, to shift power where it has long been concentrated elsewhere, and to support responses rooted in the knowledge, leadership, and experience of refugee communities. But perhaps the most important lesson from the last decade, and these interviews, is: If humanitarianism is to remain meaningful, it cannot only be about responding to need. It must also be about recognising the higher goals of agency, dignity and justice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow our What If We Told You<\/strong> campaign on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> or LinkedIn<\/a>. We’d love to hear what you think… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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