By Diana Sharone Tumuhairwe, Communications Coordinator for Action Against Hunger Uganda
In the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, the fight against hunger remains a complex battle against funding cuts and a rising influx of refugees. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates, which stood at 19.3% in mid-2025, dropped to 7% by October of the same year. This is not just a statistic; it is progress built on the lives of people like Raphael Oketch Okello, a success largely attributed to community structures that shaped “Male Champions” who lead by example.
Raphael is calm, reserved, and soft-spoken. He speaks with quiet confidence and understated clarity. He is a father of three and married to one wife.
Raphael with his wife and two of their children.
Raphael’s life literally began with displacement. A South Sudanese national, he first arrived in Uganda as a two-year-old with his mother in 1996. Though he returned to his homeland during a repatriation effort in 2008, the cycle of conflict forced him back to the refugee settlement in 2016 at the age of 27.
Life was initially bleak. Raphael lived with his mother, depending almost entirely on the humanitarian aid for survival. But the physical hardship was compounded by inherited hatred.
“Most of the neighbors are people who we hated from South Sudan, so I isolated myself,” Raphael admits. Haunted by an “unfriendly tribal history,” he avoided fellow refugees, fearing the hatred they had carried across the border.
In 2019, a friend invited Raphael to join a local Care Group, a community-led solution started by Action Against Hunger designed to strengthen local capacity for screening and managing malnutrition. Initially, Raphael’s motives were simple: he was bored, felt isolated, and hoped the group might lead to some form of work.
For Raphael, the integration process was difficult. Because the group was mixed with both refugees and Ugandan nationals, Raphael was forced to confront his biases. However, the group’s foundation was built on more than just learning about health and nutrition; the first lessons focused on forgiveness and peaceful coexistence.
“It was not easy, but I had to try to love my neighbors,” Raphael says.
As group members began checking on him when he missed meetings, his shell finally began to crack. Tribal resentment slowly became unlearned. He started to embrace teachings on nutrition, hygiene, and most importantly, how to be a good husband and father.
Raphael’s Community Care Group.
Raphael had joined the group as a newlywed. The Care Group taught a radical concept: men should participate in domestic chores like fetching water, childcare, gardening, and cooking. He therefore began applying these lessons at home, much to the shock of his community.
In his culture, these were strictly “women’s jobs”. His mother was particularly distraught, convinced that her son’s willingness to help his wife was a sign of a dark curse. “My mother was disappointed in me. She was convinced that I had been bewitched and was being controlled by my wife,” Raphael recalls.
When Raphael started fetching water and gardening, the community was dismayed. Only witchcraft could explain this behavior. Despite the ridicule from neighbors and resentment from his mother, Raphael persisted. He explained to his family that in a new community, they had to adjust their culture to survive and thrive.
The theoretical lessons of the Care Group were put to the ultimate test when Raphael’s wife went to assist with a food distribution for new arrivals at the refugee settlement, leaving him alone with their firstborn baby. When the infant began to cry from hunger, Raphael initially panicked. He had no instructions from his wife. Then, he remembered his training. He went to the shop, bought silver fish, and prepared a nutritious porridge for the child.
“The baby got calm and stopped crying. That was a major turning point. I realized I was empowered enough to take care of a baby on my own,” he says.
This moment solidified his belief that children should be raised by both parents. Since then, Raphael has been a present father for all three of his children, comfortably bathing, cooking, and feeding them.
Breaking traditional gender norms, Raphael is involved in caring for his children’s health.
Raphael’s transformation eventually moved beyond his front door. His persistence demystified gender roles for other men in the community, who began to follow his example. The ridicule soon turned into respect. He became a trainer and a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) counselor, helping local authorities resolve community cases.
He became a living “Male Champion,” demystifying the notion that domestic care is a sign of weakness. Today, he is a present father to three children, spaced healthily at seven, five, and two years old, thanks to family planning lessons that shifted his original goal of having 15 children.
His impact has scaled from his household to the entire settlement:
- GBV Counselor: He is now a proud agent against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), with local authorities frequently engaging him to mediate community cases.
- Health Educator: He spends his time at Panyadoli Health Center, working with nutrition groups to teach others about balanced diets and hygiene.
- Economic Mentor: By saving the stipends he earned as a Care Group facilitator, he opened a hair salon and helped his wife establish a produce shop, proving that gender-equitable households can achieve greater financial stability.
One of the most significant indicators of Raphael’s transformation is his role at the Panyadoli Health Center. He has evolved from an isolated and introverted refugee who was afraid of public speaking into a digitally savvy health worker. Funded by UNICEF, he now manages patient data entry using the hospital’s electronic medical records system. Additionally, he counsels parents and educates them on nutrition and exclusive breastfeeding.
Raphael’s child receives a check-up.
Today, Raphael is the overall settlement coordinator for all Community Group Volunteers (CGVs). As the Settlement Coordinator for Community Lead Volunteers (CGVs), Raphael ensures that every child is screened for malnutrition. Because of his influence, young men in the community no longer view Care Groups as a “women’s space.” They see it as a path to becoming a better man.
Raphael teaching the Care Group about nutrition.
“I am proud as a father, because I can support my family in every condition,” Raphael says. “When someone is called a Care Group Volunteer, know that that person has knowledge… they are useful people in the community”.
