As I entered the new role of CEO at Opportunity International UK, I’d heard about the devastating consequences of funding cuts to overseas aid and the changes to global priorities. I thought it was essential I understood the realities on the ground. This led me to a hastily arranged trip to Uganda, somewhere I had never been before. But nothing would prepare me for what I was to experience.
Projects that had been shutdown overnight. Teachers let go. Years of experience lost in an instant. Decades of progress shelved and mothballed. Food supplies reduced, funding of vital services slashed. I wanted to see what the situation was in the areas where we have been working.
As I landed in Uganda, I was met with the warm embrace of a country that welcomes thousands of refugees from its neighbours every year.
Uganda hosts the fourth largest refugee population in the world – 1.75m in 2024. It is also one of the most progressive. Unlike the tented, temporary camps we often see in the news, Uganda’s refugee settlements are designed for the long-term. They are towns in their own right, with roads, markets, and churches. Refugees here are given a small plot of land, freedom of movement, and the right to work. Uganda’s government are realistic about how long refugees will stay – on average 17 years. It’s an approach rooted in humanity and practicality.
It was fantastic to meet our Opportunity team in Uganda. I travelled with them to two settlements – Rwamwanja and Nakivale – collectively, home to more than 300,000 refugees. Both settlements are in rural areas, about a five-hour drive from the capital. As we drew closer, the roads turned to rough tracks.
The road to Nakivale Refugee Settlement (Photo by Helen Manson)
The settlements are home to diverse communities from Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many have fled climate emergencies, unstable situations and wars. Their stories are traumatic; one woman I met in Nakivale had arrived after her husband was killed in front of her. Another young man in Rwamwanja told me he’d walked for many days through the bush to reach safety. And the story which has haunted me most; Charlotte, a young teenager left by her parents, had resorting to selling her body to buy food for herself and her younger siblings.
But what stood out was not their suffering, but their resilience and determination to rebuild. To make new starts and build lives in a new place. This is where Opportunity International’s work is making the difference.
Here I am with a group of young refugees who are part of a basketball academy. They are receiving training and support from Opportunity to start their own businesses.
In both settlements, I saw how Opportunity’s programmes are building new futures. The power of financial literacy training, business coaching, savings groups, loans and mutual support can be seen as people rebuild. With international aid rapidly reducing, practical interventions like these enable whole families to be self-reliant quickly, and restore their dignity.
In Nakivale, Dorcas had received a loan through Opportunity Bank of Uganda. She had upgraded her tiny shop to become a proud owner of a fashion boutique, selling second-hand clothes and employing her daughter as her bookkeeper. In Rwamwanja, at an Opportunity Street Business School training session, young refugees were overcoming barriers to business and working to support each other in strong financial management. Crucially, I heard how Charlotte, the young teen whose story had so haunted me, had set up a cassava business and was now proud to be able to feed her four siblings and pay their school fees. The room was alive with questions, laughter, and most of all hope.
Dorcas, a refugee in Nakivale, showed me how a loan and traiing helped improve her second-hand clothing business.
But our job is not to impose our view or know what needs to happen. For over 50 years we have walked alongside people as they unlock lasting change for themselves. It’s about recognising that those closest to the challenges – the refugees – are best placed to shape solutions that are effective, sustainable, and bring dignity and purpose. The staff teams, financial inclusion officers, trainers and coaches are nearly all Ugandan or refugees themselves.
This is our commitment to localisation in action. By shifting power, resources, and decision-making to local people and organisations, we develop solutions and partnerships that last and provide much greater impact. The Refugee Led Organisations we partner with are leading the way in designing and delivering support that truly meets the needs of their communities.
At the Rwamwanja Opportunity Bank branch – opening soon thanks to our generous supporters – I met the Branch Manager, Eve. Her deep knowledge of the community and quiet leadership embodies everything we mean when we say, “locally led.”
We planted a mango tree at the new Opportunity Bank of Uganda site in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement.
My time in Uganda, has given me a renewed sense of purpose. The challenges are vast, from funding gaps to the climate crisis – which is now displacing more people than conflict. But so is the potential. I saw it in every conversation, every training session, every ledger carefully filled out. Financial services are a lifeline, but more than that, they build on resilience and are a route to self-reliance.
What we urgently need to do now is to scale up our work, to impact more refugees, and provide them with a pathway to prosperity. This is real change, built from the ground up. Not handouts. Not short-term fixes. Just the tools people need to build secure, independent futures.
As we look ahead, I’m excited about the next phase of our work in Uganda – it deepens our work in the settlements, reaching more refugees. It embodies everything we’ve seen succeed in Uganda: trusted partnerships, smart innovation, and unwavering belief in the potential of people – even in the hardest of circumstances.
Uganda changed me. I learnt so much. It challenged me to think differently about displacement, development, and dignity. And it affirmed what I already knew; that the work that Opportunity is doing, with your support, is not just effective – it’s essential.
How can you support people like Dorcas, Charlotte and Eve?