Skilling program unlocks opportunities for young refugee women
In Kyaka II refugee settlement, Kyegegwa district, Southwest Uganda, two young Congolese women, Chance Ange and Lailah Ruhiso, are transforming their lives from hardship to possibilities through the Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment and Transformation Initiative (RETI).
RETI equips refugee and host community youth with skills to build sustainable futures.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) partners with eight other organizations in a consortium led by Muni University, to implement the program in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
Salon business transforms Chance’s life
Twenty-five-year-old Chance Ange arrived in Uganda in 2018 fleeing violence. Alone and unsupported, she endured hunger and unstable relationships, becoming a single mother of two by 2024 and expecting a third child.
When she saw a RETI poster at a food distribution center, she seized the opportunity. “I couldn’t keep living like I was,” she recalls.
Chance visited the FCA Vocational centre and enrolled in the project to train in hairdressing, inspired by her mother who ran a salon in Congo. She learned braiding, hair treatment, customer care, and basic business skills.
Encouraged by the trainers, she joined a savings group with her fellow trainees and secured a 600,000 UGX loan to open a small salon in her home.
“On a good day, I make 70,000 UGX. I use some for the household and save the rest to grow my business. Providing food and clothes for my children is no longer the struggle it once was.” Chance says.
She dreams of expanding and learning new skills like dreadlocks to better serve her community.
Lailah’s crafts elevate her self-esteem and inspire her family
Similarly, 24-year-old Lailah Ruhiso fled Congo with her family in 2013 and felt lost after dropping out of school.
Her turning point came in early 2024, when she learned about the RETI program during a community meeting in Bukere Zone, Kyaka II Refugee Settlement.
Determined to change her circumstances, she reached out to the program officers for more information and eagerly enrolled in RETI’s handicrafts course.
The training taught her to make decorative crafts and mats from banana leaves, and crocheting clothes. Lailah began selling crafts door-to-door and through WhatsApp.
Her proudest moment was selling a mat made from old mosquito nets for 50,000 UGX.
Her work was also showcased at a national TVET exhibition in Kampala in April 2025, marking her first visit to the city.
“The trainers helped me to believe in myself,” she says.
Her sister Seka says, “Lailah has become the light of our family. She inspires me every day.” Lailah is saving to open a crafts shop and is confident in her growth.
About the RETI Program
Launched in 2023, RETI focuses on empowering youth aged 15–35 across 15 refugee-hosting districts in Uganda. Its goal is to train 100,000 young people, 60% female and 70% refugees, 3% persons with disability, and transition 70,000 of them to dignified employment by 2027.
Specifically, FCA focuses on Kyaka II, Rwamwanja, Adjumani, and Bibibidi refugee settlements and to date, has trained 8,841 youths, including 123 persons with disabilities, and supported 3,374 into wage or self-employment. Overall, RETI partners have so far trained 32,000 young people and transitioned 5,771 into work.
Text: Linda Kabuzire