Planting Seeds for the Future
The Reliable Refugee Storytelling Association (RRSA) sits in the middle of the community, in a small hut in Bidi Bidi, Northern Uganda, one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, serving as a gathering place for storytellers, listeners, peacemakers, environmental caretakers, and those seeking to make sense of displacement through narrative.
Protecting heritage. Amplifying voices. Preserving memory.
RRSA documents, protects and shares refugee and host-community cultures so future generations can learn, heal, and celebrate their identity. With a mission to safeguard intangible and tangible cultural heritage of refugee and host communities through storytelling, archiving, skills transfer, and community-led cultural programs.
Using various forms of storytelling as a powerful tool to raise awareness, RRSA mobilises communities and influences behavior change around environmental protection in both the refugee settlement and the local host communities. Born from a desire among refugees to tell their own stories, not as subjects of aid or statistics, but as authors of their own experience, RRSA share stories that show how people rebuild community, share humour, and sustain one another in displacement. Through creative narratives, youth and women-led storytelling initiatives to amplify voices on climate challenges and solutions, bridging knowledge gaps between experts and local communities.
Climate Action & Environmental Protection
With a focus on environmental protection and climate action, RRSA is engaging youth in tree planting, storytelling and community mediation to create shared cultural exchange.
Climate change affects everyone. It changes how much rain falls, how crops grow and how people live. Planting trees is a practical local response. Trees improve soil, provide shade, supply fruit and medicinal products, and store carbon.
Youth as change agents
By placing young people at the centre of the effort we are building local knowledge and long term responsibility for the landscape. We see youths as more than beneficiaries. They are local leaders, educators and stewards. When young people plant trees and share what they learn with neighbors they create a ripple effect. Small actions by many people become a visible improvement. The seedlings become tools for learning, income generation and for restoring the local environment.
On September 9th 2025, Reliable Refugee Storytellers Association distributed more than 500 tree seedlings to young people in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement Zone 1. The seedlings included guava, mango, neem, teak and orange. The seeding focused on youths who will plant and care for the trees in community spaces, home gardens and shared plots.
Reliable Refugee Storytellers Association organized a distribution event and short practical briefing. Youth participants received seedlings and simple guidance on planting, watering and early care. The focus was on species that deliver immediate and long term benefits. Guava and mango will provide fruit, neem has medicinal and pest control uses, teak is a long term timber option and orange trees offer both fruit and shade.
Storytelling Roots
RRSA’s founding members recognised the absence of platforms for authentic refugee voices. Their goal is to “tell reliable stories of refugees,” everyday accounts of resilience, humour, creativity, and adaptation within the settlement.
In 2023, Reliable Refugee Storytellers Association (RRSA) embarked on an important journey to strengthen the voices of refugees through storytelling and radio presentation training. Workshops introducing the basics of podcasting and audio storytelling have helped the RRSA team sharpen its skills and refine its craft, sparking new confidence and skills. Participants learned the art of crafting compelling stories and the techniques of radio presentation.
“The storytelling training has improved my writing skills and has also made me be cautious while reporting not to do harm because stories are powerful if told wrongly can destroy.”
— Christine Onzia Wani, Freelance Journalist
(Quote source: https://reliablerefugeesa.org/)
The training emphasized how to prepare for podcast recordings, manage the technical
side of editing, and publish polished productions ready to reach wide audiences. The association is moving from telling stories informally to producing and sharing community media for listeners beyond Bidi Bidi.
Reflections & Next Steps
This grassroots association has the potential to become a lighthouse for community-led storytelling, peacebuilding and environmental protection within refugee settlements.
We believe the best stories are written in collaboration. Whether you’re a donor, creative, organization, or simply passionate about refugee voices, your role matters.
Join us in building a future where every displaced voice is heard and empowered.
