Former refugee trains hundreds, empowers them with social skills

Investing in a girls’ education yields fruit and its ripple effects can create a difference in their lives, the society they live in and generally their families.

These were some of the statements made by Rehmah Kasule as she received the Outstanding Education Leadership Award at a ceremony held in Las Vegas, USA.

According to Kasule, she has over the years registered inspirational stories of young women like Stellah Nikuze, who was inspired to transform her community after attending the mentorship program run by CEDA International, a nonprofit organization.

One of the beneficiaries, Nikuze, was born in a refugee settlement, Kyaka II Refugee Camp in Uganda. Her parents fled from their home country, Rwanda, during the genocide.

Growing up, Nikuze witnessed young girls in the settlement suffer atrocities like sexual abuse, domestic violence, forced marriage, and child labour (which she was also a victim of). At a tender age, Nikuze and her mother had to do petty jobs to secure food for the family.

In 2014, Nikuze was introduced to CEDA International, a nonprofit that Kasule founded in Uganda in 2009 to empower the girl child under the Rising Stars Mentoring Program.

This program, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, benefited 12,000 girls in 2 refugee camps and 14 girls’ schools across Uganda and Nikuze’s school, Bujuburi Settlement School, was one of them. 

Then a young girl in senior two, Nikuze finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The comforting words by Kasule and her team inspired them and this inspired her to choose a path to her future. Through the Mentoring Program, they were taught social life skills and community leadership. They were also equipped with tools to craft their future.

Most importantly, the Program taught them to dream big and reaffirmed every dream that they shared.

“You can do it if you discover who you are and believe in yourself!” Kasule would often say during the sessions. Your background should not determine your destiny; you have the power to design your future!”

Reflecting on her life, Nikuze says that her turning point was during the deep reflections that the mentors took them through. 

She achieved self-awareness and clarity of who she was without the ‘refugee girl’ label.

The thirst and excitement for being part of the social change grew inside her. 

She was unstoppable! From then on, the driving force behind her pursuit was to ‘pay it forward’.

She was determined to create a new reality and make tomorrow better for herself and so many other girls in her community. Nikuze turned her yearning into action!  

This determination led her to identify other youth who shared her passion, and together, they started the Hodari Foundation. Through donations from well-wishers, they support child mothers, school dropouts, and the less privileged women in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement Camp community.

Under their care are 400 girls they empower through different skills like catering, tailoring, and hairdressing. They graduate 20 girls every three months.

Currently, 24-year-old Nikuze is a student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, and the President of World University Service for Canada (WUSC). 

She’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work and Human Rights and Diversity. 

She’s learning better ways to transform the lives of young women and girls worldwide.

Indeed, a few seeds of investment in a girl child can bear 100 fruits plus in return. For now her dream is to improve the lives of others and eradicate them from poverty.