From water access to community-led innovation, this program is growing fast.
When we launched our Brick Mold Lending Program in Uganda’s Nakivale Refugee Settlement, our goal was simple: to provide newly arrived families with the tools to build a real home, without the crushing cost of brick mold rentals.
However, what has happened in the months since has been anything but simple. It’s been powerful, inspiring, and entirely refugee-led.
A Water Problem—Solved From Within
In the early days of the program, many borrowers faced a challenge we hadn’t fully anticipated: a lack of water to hydrate the soil for brickmaking.
Then something amazing happened.
Groups of refugees began to organize themselves, forming informal brick-making collectives to share resources, access to water, and mold usage. These groups developed their own systems, work-sharing rhythms, and best practices. Through this collaboration, they solved their own water access issues, proving once again that when refugees lead, innovation follows.
We didn’t tell them to form groups. They did it on their own. And now, we’re learning from them.
Growth on Every Front
The success of these early stages has demonstrated just how much potential this model holds—and we’re moving quickly to expand it.
- We’re scaling up brick mold production to at least 400 molds per month, aiming to distribute approximately 3,000 brick molds this year across Nakivale.
- We’re relocating a trusted member of the Every Shelter team from the Bidi Bidi settlement to Nakivale. He’ll learn directly from the program and help evaluate how this model can expand into other refugee settlements welcoming new arrivals.
- We’re actively exploring how to replicate this program in at least one or two additional settlements this fall.
Replication, the Refugee Way
We’re also starting a new phase of the program: linking new borrowers with members of the grassroots groups that formed early on. This gives newcomers a chance to see what’s possible—and replicate it if they choose. No pressure, no requirement—just shared learning from neighbor to neighbor.
This isn’t just a lending program anymore. It’s becoming a refugee-led movement for dignified shelter.
What We’re Learning
Here’s what this moment is teaching us:
- The tools matter, yes. But the power lies in people.
- Refugees are not passive recipients of aid—they are innovators, organizers, and community builders.
- When you remove barriers—like rental fees or access to water—resilience takes root.
As we approach the second half of the year, we’re more committed than ever to growing this program with humility, curiosity, and hope.
And we’re not done yet.
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Let’s keep building—one mold, one group, one home at a time.
