Fashion, music to headline JRS Uganda Open Days

What the report says

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Uganda will hold its first Open Days in Kampala on September 25 and 26, 2026, turning its offices on St Augustine Road in Nsambya into a public showcase of refugee and host-community talent. According to Sqoop Uganda, the event will feature fashion and design presentations, African cuisine, music, arts, crafts and other cultural performances.

The two-day programme is meant to highlight creativity, enterprise and the role of vocational training in helping people rebuild their livelihoods. Exhibitors will include artisans and entrepreneurs displaying handmade products, along with former JRS programme participants who have started businesses of their own. Current trainees are also expected to present the skills they are learning through JRS support.

JRS said the event will create opportunities for participants to meet customers, companies, financial institutions, NGOs and development partners. The organisation’s communications officer for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ami-Adolphe Mudekereza, said the Open Days are intended to help the public better understand JRS’s work while recognizing the resilience and abilities of refugees and host communities.

JRS has worked in Uganda since 1993, supporting refugees and vulnerable host-community members in Kampala and Adjumani through education, livelihoods, mental health, peacebuilding and related services. Admission to the Open Days will be free, with activities running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 25 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 26.