PathPreneur Stories 2025: What Happened When We Put Families First
When AYAN’s PATHPRENEUR Program entered its second phase in 2025, we deliberately chose to design for the whole family, not just the child. What came back to us, in voices from Kiryandongo, Kyaka II, and Rhino Camp, was more than we anticipated.
This year, 350 children and 350 caregivers walked through our doors. Some had fled war in Darfur and South Sudan. Some had lost everything in landslides on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Some arrived with nothing but the will to start again. What they found at AYAN’s Innovation Centres was a space that asked something simple of them: to keep showing up.
The stories in this year’s report are not about programmes. They are about Leila, who gave birth in a hospital and days later was growing a small business from pumpkin seeds. They are about Aloyo Alice, who once turned difficult clients away and now runs three sewing machines and trains other women. They are about Kwaya, the beekeeper, who funded his university degree selling mandazi during a lockdown and now dreams of a honey hub that will serve as a reference point for refugee entrepreneurship. They are about Makayi, 58, who watched his four-year-old granddaughter Dorcus, grow bolder and decided that maybe he should try harder too.
These stories remind us that when people are given time, practical support, and the dignity of being treated as partners rather than beneficiaries, they do not just survive. They build.
As we move into 2026, we look forward to walking alongside 300 more children and their families. We are grateful to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Government of Uganda, and every community leader in the three settlements who made this year possible.
Read the full report below.