About Us

Resilience Integration and Sustainable Empowerment (RISE) is a women-led, community-based NGO founded in February 2014 by a dynamic group of women and youth from marginalized and minority communities. RISE was born out of a shared recognition of the persistent inequalities, exclusion, and humanitarian gaps affecting vulnerable populations particularly women, children, agro-pastoralist communities, and displaced persons in Somalia’s most underserved areas. The founders envisioned a grassroots platform that champions inclusion, equity, and resilience for those historically left behind.

RISE’s formation was driven by a critical need to address systemic social injustices, recurrent humanitarian crises, and the absence of community involvement in the design and delivery of aid. The organization was established to shift power to local actors and respond to unmet needs in protection, sustainable livelihoods, education, health services, WASH, nutrition, peace-building, governance, and climate adaptation.