When war broke out in South Sudan, Flora Ariye could only think of saving her life and two children. She ran to neighbouring Uganda, leaving behind her husband.  

The mother of two was resettled at Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda’s North-Western district of Yumbe on 11th November 2016. 

While in South Sudan, Ariye was a housewife and hence relied on the husband for every need. The husband's absence and the need to look after the children yet she lacked a means of livelihood traumatized her.

“I used to stay home doing manual work,” she recalls.  Thankfully, this situation was short-lived. 

Ariye’s attention was one day brought to skills development opportunities by Enabel and Finn Church Aid through a project called Support to Skilling Uganda. 

The initiative targeted refugee and host community youth, women, and girls. She found it exciting and grabbed the opportunity with open arms.
 Ariye trained in fashion and garment cutting. This was later complemented by business management training to sharpen her entrepreneurial skills. 

After completing training, Ariye felt she had everything required to become a successful entrepreneur.  

“The training was great. The business management training in particular improved my negotiation and customer care skills,” she says. 

In April 2019, Ariye made what she believes is one of the best decisions of her life. She established a clothing business. Life has since never been the same. 

“I now earn daily. During the Christmas season, business gets even better. I earn between 25,000 – 30,000 shillings,” she says. 

Ariye is now able to take care of her two children and save part of the earnings for future use. 

She hopes to one day reunite with her husband and continue the business back home in South Sudan. 

The young mother is one of the over 4000 refugees and hosts trained by Enabel and partners in West Nile and Kiryadongo through the Support to Skilling Uganda project. 

The initiative funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund aims to equip refugees and host community youth, women, and girls with the skills for employment and job creation in order to improve their standard of living.