In 2026, Finnish Refugee Council is recognizing three refugee learners in Uganda with awards for the first time. Musafiri Dieudonne was named FRC’s Refugee Learner of the Year in the Financial and Livelihood Resilience category for the way he has turned financial literacy into action. From learning to save and manage money to using his savings to start a business, Musafiri is building a livelihood that allows him to provide for his family and plan for the future.
When Musafiri thinks about the years he has spent as a refugee, one lesson stands out above the rest; nothing is guaranteed.
In 2018 when he arrived in Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo after conflict broke out, he left behind a small retail shop he had run back home. Starting again was difficult. Living with a hunched back that often leaves him in pain also meant that some of the work available to other refugees was not possible for him.
“I can’t dig or carry heavy loads on my back,” he says. “You see others doing these things while you, you can’t and it makes me feel bad.”
For a while, he relied on handouts from well-wishers and humanitarian organizations like the World Food Program (WFP). To survive, he reared chickens and sold them to earn a living. At times, he also depended on friends when he needed to buy food for his family.
There were moments of having little to survive and having to depend on others that made him feel the weight of that dependence.
When refugees went to collect food assistance, Musafiri noticed how some looked at those they considered vulnerable.
“They look at people like me as though we are useless. Some even laugh at us,” he recalls. “This used to make me feel bad.”
Musafiri’s circumstances were difficult, but he never stopped looking for a way forward.
A lesson that stayed with him
In 2026, Musafiri joined Finnish Refugee Council’s financial literacy training, which aims to promote self-reliance.
He learned about saving, managing money, and the benefits of saving together through a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA).
One lesson stayed with him: “I learnt that it is very bad to lean on someone or on aid because at one point that will not be there,” he says. “That’s why I am determined to become self‑reliant.”
The lesson resonated with his experience.
“Eight years ago, we used to receive essentials like food, clothing and money, but today things are different, the amount of food and cash assistance given has reduced” he says. “That means a time is going to come when even the little we see now is not there.” For Musafiri, this realization turned self-reliance from a classroom concept into a personal mission.
His instructor noticed his attitude from the beginning.
“Musafiri is always among the first to report to class,” the instructor says. “He would ask questions.”
His consistency and willingness to engage stood out to the instructor, who believed that with the right knowledge, Musafiri could do more.
“When I first saw him, I had a belief that this man, if trained, can become someone better.”
Musafiri listened. Then he began putting what he was learning to work. He opted to start a business.
Opening the box
He told his wife about his idea. The couple had been saving money in a box. Together, they agreed to open the box they had saved 800,000 Ugandan shillings.
In May 2026, they used their savings to start a small general merchandise shop. For Musafiri, the decision was about more than opening a shop. It was a step towards becoming the person he had been thinking about in class: someone who could create an income rather than wait for one.
He began applying the financial practices he had learned. He keeps records for the business, allowing him to track its performance and monitor its growth. When the business makes a profit, he puts some of it into savings.
In August 2026, he and his wife reinvested another 400,000 Ugandan shillings into the business, increasing the stock.
His instructor has watched him take the lessons from the classroom into the shop.
“I am proud of him because he took theory into practice by opening a business and adopting best practices such as record keeping,” the instructor says.
The shop is small, but what it has made possible for Musafiri’s family is significant.
“Before I couldn’t buy food for my children,” he says. “I would have to borrow from friends to buy food for the children.”
Now, the income from the shop helps him put food on the table. He is still saving through his VSLA, too.
For Musafiri, saving is about preparing for what comes next.
“Keep for tomorrow; for whatever plans you might have for the future and also for emergencies.”
Being seen differently
The changes in Musafiri’s life can also be felt beyond his shop. He is more confident speaking during community meetings than he was initially. He asks questions and participates as opposed to remaining silent.
And people in his community have begun to see him differently. He was chosen as secretary of his savings group, a position of responsibility that, to Musafiri, represents more than having a title.
He believes people are beginning to recognize him for what he can contribute rather than focusing on what his disability prevents him from doing.
“I have gained respect in the community,” he says.
For someone who once felt that people looked at him as though he was useless, that recognition matters.
Still, if asked what achievement makes him most proud, his answer is not his leadership position; It is his shop. “I am most proud that I have my own business.”
A future he can build
Musafiri knows that having a business has not made all his challenges disappear. He still lives with the realities of disability and displacement.
But he now has something he did not have before: a livelihood he is building himself.
He is learning how to manage it. He is saving from it. He is reinvesting it. And, most importantly to him, he is using it to provide for his children.
His next ambition is to build a bigger house for his family. Currently him, his wife and their five children sleep in a one-bedroom house. His hope is that he will add two more rooms for the children. But the future he wants is about more than a house.
“I want the community to look at me as a person of value,” he says.
And he wants his children to understand that their father’s circumstances never stopped him from trying.
“I want my children to see that despite the disability I am still trying my best to take care of them.”
That is what learning has come to mean for Musafiri. Not simply knowing how to save money or keeping business records but understanding that what he learns can give him another option.
He could not dig like others. He could not carry heavy loads. He could not always rely on assistance being there. But he could learn. He could save. He could start small. And he could build.
For Musafiri, standing on his own does not mean he no longer needs anyone. It means he is no longer waiting for someone else to determine what is possible for him. He has started deciding that for himself.