Building What's next
I came to Nakivale with nothing but my hands and a few dreams stitched into memory. Life was hard at first—no money, no work, just waiting. Then one day, I borrowed a sewing machine at the women’s center. I started by fixing torn clothes for neighbors. Slowly, I learned to make skirts, dresses, school uniforms….
When I first arrived in Nakivale, I thought all I could do was wait—for food, for resettlement, for luck. But waiting didn’t feed my family. So I started small. With 10,000 Ugandan shillings and an idea, I began selling fried cassava near the football field. At first, people laughed. Then they tasted. And they came…
Life in Nakivale Is Not Easy—But It’s Ours” Every morning in Nakivale starts with the sound of footsteps and jerrycans. We wake up early to fetch water, sweep the compound, and prepare porridge if we’re lucky. Some days there’s enough food, some days we stretch one meal across two. But in between the struggle, there’s…
When people outside hear the word “refugee camp,” they picture tents, queues, sadness, and hunger. And yes, those things exist here. But that’s not the full story.Because here in Nakivale, we are not just refugees.We are parents. Children. Artists. Teachers. Farmers. Dreamers.We are people. And we are living. Really living. My name is Grace Nyiransaba,…
Leadership didn’t come to me through books or speeches. It came through silence. It came through sitting next to a boy who had lost his entire family, and not knowing what to say. It came through standing between two angry men arguing over food rations and finding the courage to remind them we are not…
I never planned to be a leader. Honestly, I didn’t even think I had that in me. When I arrived in Nakivale Refugee Settlement four years ago, I came with nothing but a torn bag, a broken heart, and questions. Questions about why we had to run. Why peace was so fragile. And how I…