REWO was born from experience, resilience, and the determination of refugee women to shape their own future.

In displacement settings, refugee women often face compounded challenges—loss of livelihoods, disrupted education, gender‑based violence, environmental stress, and limited opportunities to participate in decision‑making. Yet within these same communities exists strength, leadership, and untapped potential.

In August 2020, a group of refugee women living in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, Yumbe District, came together with a shared conviction: lasting change must be led by those most affected. From this resolve, the Refugee Women Organization (REWO) Uganda was founded—created by refugee women, for refugee and host communities.

From humble beginnings, REWO emerged as a safe space where women could organize, support one another, and turn shared challenges into collective action. What started as a grassroots initiative quickly grew into a structured community‑based organization committed to empowerment, dignity, and self‑reliance.

Over time, REWO expanded its reach beyond women alone—recognizing that children and youth are central to sustainable recovery and peace. Through education, livelihoods, protection, environmental stewardship, and peacebuilding, REWO began responding holistically to the realities of life in displacement.

REWO’s approach has always been community‑driven. Programs are shaped by local voices, implemented with community participation, and designed to strengthen both refugee and host populations, fostering coexistence and social cohesion. This inclusive foundation enables REWO to respond not only to immediate humanitarian needs, but also to long‑term development and resilience.

Today, REWO stands as a women‑led organization rooted in lived experience, guided by the belief that empowered women create empowered societies. Each initiative—whether supporting livelihoods, amplifying women’s leadership, protecting the environment, or building peace—reflects the organization’s core promise: to transform vulnerability into opportunity and dependency into self‑reliance.

Our story continues to be written every day by the women, youth, and communities who lead, learn, and rise together.