We Will Lead Africa: VOLUME SEVEN: Refugees, Peacebuilding, Security.

By Yabome Gilpin-Jackson

If you google 'African refugees', you will not find leaders or changemakers in anything the search produces. Instead, you will get stories about the reality of the hardships and traumas facing millions of African refugees; the plight of those seeking asylum only to face cross-border and international systemic challenges; and the hardships of poverty, exclusions, and oppressions faced even by those who are successful in making it into a place of refuge.

But what about all of those leading change, for refugees and by refugees...

Do we know their stories? What can we learn from their leadership, agency, and advocacy? How are they leading in Africa, and for Africans/peoples of African descent on the continent and/or in the diaspora? How are these everyday African leaders promoting peacebuilding and security?

This volume in the We Will Lead Africa series explores these questions by platforming the stories of everyday leaders who are working and advocating for African refugees and a more peaceful and secure world for Africans and people of African descent on the continent and in the diaspora.

This volume features the voices of refugees and former refugees across 25 personal narratives, a fiction story, 3 essays by the Editorial team and the cover art and artwork in this collection. It is a testament to the remarkable things that happen when people refuse to succumb to dehumanisation and choose service and leadership instead.

We offer this volume as a mighty drop in the broader ocean of efforts being made to build a more peaceful, secure, and just Africa. We hope they inspire you to keep taking action towards a world of dignity, peace, and security for all.

Thank you to each of the contributors who make up this collective story of leadership for Africa and Africans, by African refugees:

Story Contributors

1. Aden Mohammed Abdi
2. Tsegaye Alemu Asana
3. Char Ruot Banang
4. Meheret Bisrat
5. Khosa J. K. Chambalo
6. Kapalakasa Zelo Chiley
7. Gatluak Goanar Choat
8. Kuok Mathpiw Chuol
9. Nhial Deng
10. Emmanuel Hakizimana
11. Neema Heritier
12. Elizabeth Mujawamariya Johnson (Prologue)
13. Mariatu Kamara
14. Tatenda Mandenga
15. Fentaye Gebeyehu Mihretie
16. Fabris Mulindi
17. Prudence Klwinti Ndiweni
18. William Ngabonziza
19. Jean-Bruno Nkondi
20. Abdullahi Abdirahman Noor
21. Dictor Abdalla Olame
22. Kunda John Saied
23. Benjamin Sango
24. Coumba Toure
25. Matilda Williams-Obiajunwa
26. Yesua Aliki Uriah Yesua

Additional Contributions

27. Adelana Gilpin-Jackson (Essay)
28. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson (Essay)
29. Njamba Koffi (Essay)
30. Benjamin Mbula (Cover and Interior Art)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HGLHB81X
• ISBN13: 9798194950010
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"