They Are Still Waiting: Why Nakivale Cannot Be Ignored

There are children sitting outside classrooms right now.

Not because they do not want to learn.
Not because their parents do not care.
But because the support that once made school possible is no longer there.

This is not a distant crisis.
This is happening now—in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda.

And I know that place.

Not from a report.
Not from a documentary.
But from a life that began in displacement.

A Story That Never Really Left Me

I was born in the middle of a crisis.

My mother was fleeing violence when she went into labor. There was no hospital. No safe place. I came into this world between borders, carried by urgency, uncertainty, and survival.

I spent 27 years as a refugee.

I grew up in places where school was not guaranteed. Where stability was fragile. Where the future felt like something other people had, not something you could plan for.

So when I speak about children in refugee settlements today, I am not speaking from distance.

I am speaking from memory.

Why Nakivale Matters

Nakivale is one of the oldest refugee settlements in Africa. Today, it is home to more than 130,000 people—families who have fled conflict, instability, and loss in search of safety.

But safety does not always mean opportunity.

Education in Nakivale is under pressure. Classrooms are overcrowded. Resources are stretched thin. Many children simply cannot access school consistently, even when they want to.

And when a child is cut off from education, it is not just a missed lesson.

It is a disrupted future.

What Is Happening Right Now

Across Uganda, the refugee support system is shifting.

Funding has been reduced.
Food support has been cut.
Schools are struggling to keep up.

In many places, the classroom ratio far exceeds what is sustainable. Children sit in crowded spaces, or worse, they sit outside them.

Families are forced to make impossible decisions.

Do we eat today, or do we send our child to school?

That is not a decision any parent should have to make.

Why Horizons Coalition Exists

Horizons Coalition was created because I could not ignore this reality.

Not after living it.
Not after seeing what happens when no one steps in.
And not when I know what is possible when someone does.

We are launching the Nakivale Settlement Elementary Education Initiative, beginning with 200 children between the ages of 5 and 12.

This is not a symbolic effort.

This is a structured, measurable, and deeply intentional program designed to help children stay in school and actually succeed.

What This Initiative Does

This project is built around one simple truth:

A child cannot learn if everything around them is unstable.

So we are not only addressing school access.
We are supporting the environment that makes learning possible.

This includes:

Educational materials and uniforms
Support for teachers and classrooms
Feeding assistance so children can focus and stay
Trauma-informed care for children carrying unseen burdens
Parent engagement to strengthen accountability and support

We are working within existing schools, not around them. That means faster impact, stronger partnerships, and a foundation that can grow.

What It Takes

It costs about $317 per year to support one child fully through this initiative.

That is not just tuition.
That is a pathway.

A pathway back into structure.
Back into learning.
Back into possibility.

Phase 1 requires $63,428 to support 200 children for a full year.

For some, that number may feel large.

For others, it represents something clear:

200 children who will not be left behind.

This Is About More Than One Place

Nakivale is where we begin.

But it is not where this ends.

We are building a model—one that can grow, expand, and serve more communities across Uganda and beyond. A model rooted in lived experience, community trust, and practical execution.

This is what happens when those who have lived the story step forward to lead the solution.

A Different Kind of Invitation

This is not about charity.

This is about responsibility.

It is about recognizing that the distance between us and these children is not as great as we often think.

And that the ability to act is already in our hands.

Some will choose to sponsor one child.

Some will support a classroom.

Some will help fund an entire phase.

But every person who steps in becomes part of something larger than a single moment.

They become part of a future being rebuilt.

They Are Still Waiting

The children in Nakivale are not waiting for a perfect plan.

They are waiting for someone to respond.

The classrooms are there.
The teachers are there.
The need is clear.

What is needed now is action.

Final Thought

I often think about what my life might have looked like if someone had stepped in earlier.

If the structures had been stronger.
If the support had been there.
If the opportunity had come sooner.

We cannot rewrite the past.

But we can shape the future.

And right now, that future is sitting just outside a classroom, waiting for the door to open.