“They have so much in themselves”: Recognising the strengths and resilience of youth in Nakivale refugee settlement, Uganda

Abstract

The everyday interactions between humanitarian workers and refugee youth represent an overlooked dimension of humanitarian research. Although humanitarian workers play a growing role in refugee settlements and camps, their contribution to fostering resilience among young refugees remains understudied. Existing studies on humanitarian interventions have largely concentrated on institutional policies, logistics, and service delivery, while research on refugee youth resilience has focused on individual coping mechanisms. What remains missing is an understanding of how external support systems, particularly frontline humanitarian workers, shape resilience in daily life. This study addresses that gap by examining how humanitarian workers in Uganda’s Nakivale refugee settlement support refugee youth through a strengths-based approach, highlighting how they actively nurture agency, hope, and psychological strength rather than reproducing vulnerability-centred narratives. It reframes resilience not as a fixed trait but as a dynamic process co-created through everyday relationships between humanitarian workers and youth. Using micro-ethnographic fieldwork, including 16 in-depth interviews, one focus group, and participant observations, the study identifies three key findings: humanitarian workers challenge vulnerability-centred identities, mobilise youth strengths, and construct affirmative narratives that foster hope and agency, while vulnerability-focused and strengths-based practices coexist in everyday humanitarian worker–youth relationships. The study’s contribution lies in bringing humanitarian workers’ perspectives to the forefront and demonstrating how their practices can enhance refugee youths’ sense of agency and wellbeing. A deliberate integration of strengths-based approach into humanitarian social work can enhance the agency and wellbeing of refugee youth, challenging prevailing narratives of victimhood and dependency.