A Letter from our Founder & CEO

In the years since Xavier Project began, the number of people displaced around the world has increased from 42 million people to over 82 million people today.

When I began Xavier Project in 2008 I didn’t necessarily expect it to become a charity. In fact, the word “project” was chosen  because the focus was much more on the work being done, than in setting up an organisation. The work of Xavier Project initially centred around supporting refugee families I had met in Kampala with school fees. It seemed possible that as a project that was something that could be completed.

In the years since Xavier Project began, the number of people displaced around the world has increased from 42 million people to over 82 million people today.

In the years since Xavier Project began, the number of people displaced around the world has increased from 42 million people to over 82 million people today. It seems clear that responses to these crises will not have success when seen as standalone “projects”. Systems changes will be needed that will go beyond the scope of the humanitarian aid sector. Everyone can play a part in addressing one of the greatest challenges of our times. This is why we are still here, with a renewed sense of identity under our new name Cohere, and a renewed energy to bring about changes in the way refugee communities are able to rebuild their lives.

In the intervening years we have learnt a lot. We have learnt from the refugee communities we have worked with. We have learnt from donors and mentors who have nudged us in the right direction. We have learnt from talented team members, some of whom have come and gone, while some of whom are now serving over ten years with the organisation. One of the most crucial lessons we have learnt is that positive changes in refugee communities are more effective, more sustainable, more relevant and more appropriate when led by refugees themselves.

One of the most crucial lessons we have learnt is that positive changes in refugee communities are more effective, more sustainable, more relevant and more appropriate when led by refugees themselves.

In the early years of Xavier Project this was something that became apparent to me quickly. In 2012 we were part of a network of small organisations working in Kampala called the Refugee Grass-roots Network. This was mainly made up of refugee-led organisations (RLOs), many of whom were working in education and livelihoods just as we were. Although we ran our own activities as Xavier Project, such as the library for refugee children we ran for many years in Kampala, we began partnering with community educators, and collaborating with the RLOs in our networks, as we found we could achieve far more this way. As time went on we realised that these partnerships were more than complementary to our work: we wanted these partnerships to form the backbone of everything we did. We did not need to run our own activities as Xavier Project when refugee leaders, with more relevant experience and contextual understanding, were already doing impressive work. Instead, we would find ways to bring like-minded people together so that their community-led work could be supported and scaled.

We did not need to run our own activities as Xavier Project when refugee leaders, with more relevant experience and contextual understanding, were already doing impressive work.

It is interesting that the journey of Urban Refugees, who we recently joined forces with, is comparable. Founded in 2012 to advocate for the growing number of urban refugees and the situation they faced, in recent years the organisation had also evolved to carrying out all activities in close partnership with RLOs.

As Cohere we want to follow the lead of refugees. Our commitment to working with refugee communities is as determined as it has ever been over the last fourteen years. We believe that when power is transferred, communities can be transformed.

We hope you’ll join us for our next chapter.

Edmund Page