Lasu Manasi
Founder / CEO & Executive Director
Refugee youth advocate, photographer, and filmmaker leading RFS's strategic mission across Bidi-Bidi.
Bidi-Bidi Settlement Leadership
About RFS.ORG
Storytelling as a Tool for Transformation
Rise For Success supports young refugee women and girls in Bidi-Bidi Settlement to reclaim their voices, build narrative skills, and bridge education to leadership.
Background & Context
Why Rise For Success Exists
RFS works directly in Bidi-Bidi Refugee Settlement in Yumbe District, Uganda—home to over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees across more than 64 ethnic groups, each with distinct cultural norms and beliefs.
In this environment, young women and girls (particularly those aged 18 to 22) face immense social and cultural barriers. Many are seen only through the lens of marriage rather than individual potential, leading to their exclusion from decision-making, education, and creative spaces.
Rise For Success was created to change this reality. By introducing photography and storytelling, we give young women the tools to express themselves, build self-reliance, and lead change in their communities.
Bidi-Bidi Settlement, Uganda
Supporting young refugee women across 64+ ethnic groups with skills, tools, and mentorship.
Lasu Manasi
Founder & Executive DirectorProfessional Skills:
PhotographyJournalismStorytellingFilming
Executive Leadership • Bidi-Bidi Settlement
Our Leadership
Meet Our Founder: Lasu Manasi
Founder & Executive Director • Launched RFS in 2024
Rise For Success was launched in 2024, built upon professional skills in photography, journalism, storytelling, and filming to address representation imbalances in displacement settings.
Why I Started This Work
“As a Refugee Youth Advocate, I used storytelling to find my voice when words failed me. I founded Rise For Success to give young women and girls that same power so they can see themselves, tell their own stories, and create change.”
Having navigated the settlement since 2016, Lasu recognized that while young women face heavy socio-cultural restrictions, they possess immense creative potential when provided ethical equipment and structured guidance.
Leadership Team
The People Behind Rise For Success
Dedicated refugee advocates, artistic leads, and program coordinators guiding RFS in Bidi-Bidi Settlement.
Lilian Kiden
Co-Founder / Artistic Lead
Guiding the creative direction, artistic expression, and storytelling pedagogy for RFS workshops.
Bidi-Bidi Settlement Leadership
Simon Kaggwa
Program Coordinator
Overseeing day-to-day workshop logistics, mentor pairings, and participant outreach in Zone 2.
Bidi-Bidi Settlement Leadership
Collaborative Network
We Do Not Do This Alone
Partnership is central to the Rise For Success model.
We collaborate with NGOs working with women and girls, media organizations, and health equipment partners to amplify impact across Bidi-Bidi Settlement.
SliFilm Media
Media & Photojournalism PartnerUganda
Collaborates with RFS on the 1-year Photojournalism curriculum, providing equipment access and issuing accredited Certificates in Photojournalism aligned with the Uganda Journalism Curriculum.
CouldYou?
Menstrual Health PartnerNew York, USA
A NY-based non-profit scaling poverty solutions. Partners with RFS to distribute US-certified 'CouldYou Menstrual' cups to provide 10 years of dignity to women and girls across Bidi-Bidi.
Interested in partnering with Rise For Success?
We welcome NGOs, media outlets, and donors looking to collaborate in refugee empowerment.