Robert Hakiza is a Congolese researcher and humanitarian leader who founded Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID), a refugee-led, community-based organization in Uganda. Established in 2007, YARID provides informal language education, vocational training, internet access, and healthcare services to refugees in Kampala and surrounding settlements. As Executive Director, Hakiza has led the organization’s expansion to field offices in Kampala, Kyaka II, and Palabek, serving over 8,000 refugees in 2022 with programs focused on education, sustainable livelihoods, and refugee protection.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hakiza has lived in Uganda since 2008. He holds a degree in Agriculture from the Catholic University of Bukavu and a certificate in forced migration from the International Summer School at Oxford University. He is a founding member of both the Refugee-Led Organizations Network and the Global Refugee Network, where he represents Sub-Saharan Africa on the steering committee.
Hakiza is a TED Fellow, a 2017 Aspen New Voices Fellow, and a 2019 Obama Foundation Emerging African Leader. In 2016, YARID received the prestigious Ockenden International Prize for its Women’s Empowerment Project, an initiative that promotes refugee self-reliance and community resilience.
