The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Uganda will hold a two-day public exhibition in Kampala to showcase businesses, vocational skills and creative products developed by refugees and members of their host communities.
The inaugural JRS Uganda Open Days will take place on September 25 and 26, 2026, at the organisation’s offices on St Augustine Road in Nsambya.
The event will feature fashion and design, arts and crafts, catering, African cuisine, music and cultural performances. It will also connect participating entrepreneurs with prospective customers, companies, financial institutions and development organisations.
Former JRS trainees who have established businesses will exhibit their products and share their entrepreneurial experiences. Current trainees will demonstrate skills acquired through the organisation’s vocational and livelihood programmes.
Ami-Adolphe Mudekereza, the JRS Communications Officer for Eastern and Southern Africa, said the Open Days would help the public understand the organisation’s work and its impact on refugees and host communities.
“We want the Open Day to help people better understand who we are, what we do and the difference our programmes make,” Mudekereza said.
“It will also showcase the skills, talents, resilience and initiatives of refugees and host communities, while strengthening partnerships and connections.”
Representatives of businesses, non-governmental organisations, financial institutions, universities and development agencies are expected to attend. JRS has also invited entrepreneurs, community initiatives and other organisations to register as exhibitors.
The event comes as humanitarian organisations increasingly promote livelihood development and socioeconomic integration to help displaced people rebuild their lives and become more self-reliant.
JRS Uganda runs programmes in education, livelihoods, mental health and psychosocial support, basic-needs assistance, pastoral care, peacebuilding and reconciliation.
The organisation has operated in Uganda since 1993 and works with refugees and vulnerable host-community members in Kampala and Adjumani.
It is led by Country Director Fr Paul Kalenzi, SJ, who spent part of his childhood in a refugee family in Nairobi after his parents fled Uganda during Idi Amin’s rule.
JRS was founded in 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees and other forcibly displaced people.
The September 25 programme will run from 9am to 5pm, while activities on September 26 will take place from 11am to 5pm. Admission is free and open to the public.
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