The Acts of Kindness Fund & Learning Program

The Threads of Transformation program is thriving, building on the momentum and key lessons from last year’s pilot. In recent months, our team has been preparing for the next phase, launching this month in the Adjumani settlements of northern Uganda, where women are coming together to create meaningful change in their communities.

Adjumani District lies in the West Nile sub-region of northern Uganda, near the South Sudan border. It is home to more than 230,000 refugees, most from South Sudan, who live across several settlements. Among them are communities such as Ayilo I and II, where people from diverse ethnic groups including the Dinka, Nuer, Madi, Kuku, and Acholi now live side by side. While this diversity can be complex, it also offers a powerful opportunity for rebuilding trust and understanding.

The Threads of Transformation program brings together five remarkable women from different South Sudanese clans. We’re excited to introduce Amol, Moya, Rachel, Malia, and Anger, each with her own story of courage, resilience, and determination. Some are mothers supporting their families on their own, while others are young women pursuing education or using tailoring to rebuild their lives after conflict.

Through this program, these women will not only learn advanced garment-making and design skills under the guidance of Ms. Saskia Lenaerts, but they will also create something even more powerful: understanding, collaboration, and peace among communities that once stood divided. Each woman becomes both a craftswoman and an ambassador for unity.

The preparation period has allowed us to refine the program to ensure it fits into the rhythm of life in Adjumani. Because all of the participants spend significant time working in the fields to grow staple crops for their families, we realised that it was important to launch the sessions after the busiest farming season, so they can participate fully and without pressure.

As the launch nears in a couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing updates, photos, and stories of the women leading this journey of creativity and resilience, building both beautiful garments and stronger connections across their communities.

To the BBS community of supporters, we are deeply grateful for your unwavering belief in our work and the communities we serve.

In our last update we shared details about the worsening security situation in Goma, DR Congo, which led to the suspension of Threads of Transformation activities in that region. Unfortunately, the situation remains unstable. Government institutions, including the courts and banks, remain closed, and mobile money platforms are the only functioning financial system. Our local partner, Remember Youth for Change, continues to keep us informed.

We want to assure you that we remain fully committed to the six apprentices in Goma. When it becomes safe and feasible, we will continue the work with them. This is not the end of the DRC program but a pause until the environment allows us to responsibly and effectively support their growth.

The broader Threads of Transformation initiative was always envisioned as a scalable model that could adapt to different regions impacted by conflict and displacement. With this in mind, we’re writing to share that the next phase of Threads of Transformation will begin this July in the Adjumani refugee settlements of Northern Uganda.

This chapter will focus on women from the South Sudan’s 64 distinct tribes, many of whom carry deep generational grievances and historical divisions. Following the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan in December 2013, thousands fled to northern Uganda, where formerly opposed tribes were placed together in shared refugee settlements. Over time, these divisions have reemerged, and in recent years, inter-tribal and inter-clan violence has intensified. These tensions have impacted not only relationships within the refugee communities, but with the Ugandan host communities.

Threads of Transformation in Adjumani will address both economic and social dimensions of this crisis. The women in the program will learn to creatively repurpose conflict-associated materials into marketable products while engaging in intentional, facilitated dialogue designed to foster understanding across tribal lines. The program incorporates traditional South Sudanese crafts, creating a shared space for cultural expression, healing, and reconciliation. In doing so, the project honours heritage while transforming fashion and craft into tools for peacebuilding.

This new phase will be implemented in collaboration with our trusted local partner, SPEAK Uganda. Over the past four years, SPEAK has worked with us on projects including menstrual health initiatives and leadership programming. Their peacebuilding methodology is centered on storytelling, relationship-building, and economic empowerment, and is integral to the Threads of Transformation model. It has also been recognised by organisations such as UNHCR.

Currently, the six selected participants are completing their agricultural planting season, growing staple crops vital to their community’s food security as World Food Program support continues to decline. Simultaneously, SPEAK Uganda is sourcing materials and preparing for the program’s formal launch in late July.

Threads of Transformation in Adjumani is not a shift away from the original mission but a continuation. It reflects the program’s core principles: to use creativity and collaboration as tools for healing, empowerment, and peace. We’re excited to keep you updated with photos and insights as the Adjumani phase begins.

To all of you in the BBS community, thank you again for standing with us and helping make this progress a reality.