Yoga in
Since September 2024, we have co-created a yoga and training program in
Nakivale Refugee Camp, Uganda, in collaboration with Nakujali, an
association composed and led by refugees from the camp. This project aims to
provide spaces of joy, emotional regulation, and reconnection to the body,
while also organizing distributions of essential goods. Training local
teachers is central to the initiative to ensure the continuity of yoga
classes and create a sustainable resilience tool for refugee communities.
In January 2025, activities intensified, with over 6,500 participants
attending yoga sessions in the districts of Ruhoko and Juru. Refugee
instructors trained through the program now lead weekly classes throughout
the camp.
The Project & its objectives
The yoga project at Nakivale Refugee Camp emerged through collaboration with Nakujali, a refugee-founded and -led association. Nakujali sought to create a well-being and connection space for the community and reached out to co-design a program centered on solidarity and collective well-being.
In September 2024, Alice led the first phase of the program, with 10 days of yoga sessions attended by over 1,000 participants and four people beginning their training. She returned in January 2025 for three weeks of further sessions, training, and distributions.
Main Objectives:
Emotional and physical well-being: Reduce stress, reconnect with the body and sensations, develop strength, flexibility, and balance.
Psychological resilience: Provide secure spaces where trauma can be processed through adapted practices.
Social cohesion: Strengthen community ties through shared experiences, joy, and solidarity.
Training: Equip local instructors with tools to sustain and transmit these practices.
Material support: Organize distributions of food, clothing, hygiene products, and educational supplies.
Project Impact
The sessions take place in the Juru and Ruhoko districts, two of the most underserved areas in Nakivale, where families often live in tents or makeshift shelters. Access to basic necessities such as water and food remains extremely limited.
Since the project began:
• Over 7,500 people have participated in the sessions.
• 7,500 meals and drinks have been distributed.
• Six large distributions provided: notebooks, pens, and soap for children, soap, sanitary pads, plates, and salt for women, detergent and hygiene products for men.
• Four local teachers have completed their training and now teach regularly.
The Yoga Sessions
In the difficult context of a refugee camp, marked by trauma, insecurity, and scarce resources, yoga becomes more than a physical exercise. It offers rebuilding and regulation through movement, helping participants reduce stress and reconnect with their bodies in a stable, supportive environment.
The integration of breathwork, movement, somatic practices, and mindfulness helps regulate the nervous system, improve body awareness, and strengthen resilience. Participants report feeling more at ease, with children describing how yoga helps them “stop thinking about difficult moments.”
Yoga sessions also foster social support networks. Participants experience moments of solidarity and mutual care, which reinforce community cohesion. These gatherings provide hope and break isolation, helping people reconnect despite daily hardships.
The community leaders and parents have observed positive changes, noting that children continue to practice yoga outside of class. These moments of continuity offer a sense of renewal and long-term well-being, where both body and mind can heal from the challenges of exile.
Ruhoko
In Ruhoko, one of the most vulnerable districts, yoga sessions have taken on deep significance. The limited access to water and food places constant stress on residents. Despite these conditions, community members—women, men, and children alike—have eagerly participated in the sessions.
The practice has created a space for respite and joy, allowing participants to release physical and mental tension and experience moments of connection and relief.
Juru
In Juru, where precarious conditions are also prevalent, yoga has become an opportunity for collective expression. Sessions have helped strengthen community bonds, bringing together both children and adults for moments of shared movement, laughter, and dance. Participants have found moments of relaxation and reconnection, temporarily leaving behind the difficulties of daily life.
Raise chess
The project also collaborated with Raise Chess Academy, which focuses on child development and trauma recovery through chess, football, and English classes. Yoga sessions tailored for the children helped them channel their energy, build self-confidence, and manage stress more effectively.
Through simple postures, games, moments of relaxation, and breathing exercises, the children were able to express their creativity while building self-confidence. These sessions were also an opportunity to create strong bonds with them, offering a space where they felt safe and supported.
Training
One of the key objectives of this project is to ensure that it is sustainable and rooted within the refugee community. That’s why, from the start, we focused on training members of Nakujali, so that they can not only actively participate in the project but also become yoga teachers themselves. This training aims to provide the tools necessary to continue offering yoga sessions long after my departure.
The training goes far beyond teaching postures and yoga techniques. It also includes fundamental aspects of yoga philosophy, stress management, group facilitation, confidence building, and teaching trauma-sensitive yoga. By training these Nakujali members, who are themselves refugees and deeply understand their community’s needs, we are creating a model where yoga becomes an accessible and adapted tool, led by those who live and understand the participants’ daily lives.
The training has been designed to adapt to local realities and the community’s specific needs, with regular follow-up and online sessions to continue developing the teachers’ skills over time. The success of these first 10 days proves that this training model ensures the sustainability of the project. Additional training sessions will take place in 2025.
Members of Nakujali lead several classes each week at Basecamp, as well as two classes per month in Juru and two classes per month in Ruhoko.
Distributions
While yoga plays an important role in the well-being and comfort of the community, it is essential to first address basic daily needs to truly enhance this well-being. That’s why, alongside the yoga sessions, distributions of essential goods were organized.
These distributions included food, drinks, soap, detergent, salt, as well as pens and notebooks for the children. For many of them, it was the first time they had received a notebook, a fundamental tool for their education that opens new learning opportunities.
These gestures provided direct material support to families, temporarily alleviating daily challenges. They showed that while wellness activities like yoga are important, it is equally crucial to provide concrete solutions to the material needs of refugees to improve their overall quality of life.
However, we are aware that this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the immense needs of the Nakivale community. This project is still in its early stages, and we are determined to go further. We aim to expand our action to respond more sustainably and structurally to these needs, while continuing to offer moments of well-being and comfort through yoga and other activities. It is a first step, but there is still much more to do to sustainably improve their daily lives.
A model of co-creation
Nakujali, composed of refugees living in the settlement, was at the heart of this project’s realization. Thanks to their intimate knowledge of their community’s needs and their ability to organize and mobilize resources, Nakujali not only led the project but also ensured that it responded to local realities.
As members of the refugee community, they deeply understand the daily challenges faced by their peers. Their leadership, resilience, and commitment helped anchor this project in Nakivale’s daily life, providing relevant and sustainable solutions for the community.
A sustainable project
The project aims to establish a structured annual program, including:
• Regular training sessions for instructors.
• Weekly yoga classes for children and adults.
• Quarterly distributions adapted to local needs.
Alice plans to return to the camp in August 2025 to continue these initiatives. The commitment of the Nakujali community ensures that the project is firmly rooted and sustainable.
The goal is to create a long-term dynamic where well-being and empowerment are central to daily life in Nakivale. By passing on these tools to the community itself, the project guarantees its continuity beyond external involvement.
Call for Support
For this program to grow and endure, we need your support. Whether through sharing our project, raising awareness about the situation of displaced populations, or providing financial support, every contribution is valuable. We also need sponsors for the next phase of the project, and donations are tax-deductible for French donors.
Your help will allow us to continue offering these moments of well-being, training, and solidarity to thousands of people in Nakivale. Together, we can contribute to lasting change.
