Promoting the reintegration of out-of-school youth through social and economic development

Partner

St.Moses Children's Care Centre and Community Development

Localisation

Jinja, Uganda

Main topic

Education, Psychosocial support

Total amount of the project

296 238 CHF

Duration

3 years

Number of beneficiaries

450 children/youths

Uganda is experiencing a demographic explosion, with almost 77% of its population under the age of 25, and a population growth rate of 3.3% per year. Nevertheless, young people (aged 15-24) make up 64% of the unemployed, with even higher levels of underemployment and vulnerable employment. Insufficient availability of formal employment, limited access to productive resources, lack of marketable skills, adoption of high-risk behaviours and protection issues all combine to place adolescents and young people with socio-economic and psychological challenges. In the long term, this prevents Uganda and its people from rising out of poverty.

The project implemented by St.Moses Children’s Care Centre and Community Development aims to strengthen the ability of young people in vulnerable situations to become active in the development of their society through economic participation and social empowerment.

The project aims to support young people towards autonomy, valuing their commitment, any solidarity mechanism and offering professional development options outside the traditional school system. Their social skills and capacity for self-determination are also strengthened, positioning them as key players in their communities.

The first objective of the project is to reduce unemployment among project beneficiaries. The aim is to enable young people to find their own path according to their profile, complementing existing services in the region (micro-credit, vocational training). The following main approaches will be used:

Savings groups: They are empowered to create savings groups to promote a savings culture among themselves.

Career guidance: Young people are made aware of the different aspects to consider before choosing a career (technical skills, entrepreneurial abilities, diplomas, social skills). Young people can choose to move towards apprenticeship support or business mentoring.

Business mentoring: Groups of young people are guided by mentors who coach, encourage and follow them as they grow their businesses. Mentors also identify and recommend businesses for apprenticeships, and then follow up to ensure that the lessons learned guide the young people in running their businesses.

Apprenticeships: 50 young people benefit from apprenticeships. The aim here is to find an option where out-of-school youths can acquire basic skills through immersion in trades such as cooking or hairdressing, without having to commit to a longer training course.

The social component of the project will use the following approaches in particular:

Reinforcing social skills: Young people will benefit from interactive group sessions aimed at strengthening their psychosocial skills, such as emotional management, communication or conflict management. These will be accompanied by forum theater sessions.

Community education: Awareness-raising events will be organized in the five villages to inform communities about issues relating to the well-being of children and young people, through poems, plays, concerts, role-playing, sketches, educational films and spotlight documentaries. In this context, 10 youth-led advocacy activities and events will be organized in their respective clubs and presented to targeted people in the community to solicit their support in different areas of need.