In South Africa, our Lab focuses on refugees and asylum seekers navigating displacement in urban communities. Unlike many neighboring countries, South Africa does not operate a camp policy.

Refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa come primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe, and are concentrated in cities including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban. Despite legal protections on paper, access to documentation, healthcare, education, and livelihoods remains out of reach for the majority.

Our in-country partner is Liliane Mukidi, Provincial Chairperson of the South Africa Refugee Led Network and Executive Secretary of the African Refugee Women's Network in South Africa. Liliane brings something rare: she works from within the refugee community, not outside it. Her dual leadership roles give her direct access to the networks, trust, and on-the-ground knowledge that make ethical oral history collection possible in an urban, dispersed refugee population where community trust is not easily earned.

This Lab is currently in development. We are building the partnership infrastructure, training framework, and community relationships that will make this work sustainable before collection begins. That groundwork is not preliminary — it is the work.