Soomaaliniimo as Strength: Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis in the Somali-Ugandan Community of Kisenyi

Uganda has been home to a myriad of communities of Somali origin for over a century. Pioneering Somali-Ugandans can trace their arrival to the early days of the colonial administration. A second wave of Somalis migrated to Uganda in the 1980s, and a third wave of Somali refugees has been arriving in Uganda since the Somali Civil War. The article will focus on how a community of mostly Somali-Ugandans living in Kisenyi, also known as “Little Mogadishu,” navigated the COVID-19 crisis through mutual aid practices upheld by a shared sense of Soomaaliniimo . In doing so, it will foreground the role prominent religious leaders and women-led initiatives played in providing lifelines through community practices in areas where the Ugandan state infrastructure fell short.