www.reachahand.org
ANNUAL REPORT
REACH A HAND UGANDA
Table Of CONTENTS Annual Report 2015
FOREWORD
1
OUR ACTIVITIES
3
PARTNERED ACTIVITIES
8
FINANCE AND GROWTH
11
FAQS
12
GROWTH OF THE TEAM
13
FOREWORD
Foreword
2015 has been a tremendous year for us. The tireless efforts of the team, peer educators, donors and partners have contributed to making this past year a memorable one for us. When we set out on this journey, our dream was to see every young person have access to correct and accurate information on their reproductive health, to understand their sexuality as individuals and from this comprehension of who they were, become the best possible people they could become. We caught a glimpse of that vision and got a little bit closer to our goal this past year. Through our dedicated peer educators and far-reaching partnerships, we’ve managed to reach so many youth across Uganda, both within Kampala and in different rural areas, using diverse platforms that have enabled us to deliver our message in a relatable, informative
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and accessible way.
Our activities have been notable and outstanding because of your belief in us as young people and what we have to offer in the efforts to empower young people in Uganda with information on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Through our dedicated peer educators and far-reaching partnerships, we’ve managed to reach so many youth across Uganda You will notice that we have written this report in an unconventional style, uncommon to many annual reports styles of writing and design. As to all stakeholders, we would like our primary target audience - the young person - to pick this up and get a comprehension of our efforts to empower him / her and to realize his / her contribution to these efforts. We can only hope that this report gives you a preview of our journey thus far and our commitment. It’s an opportunity for us to highlight our efforts and applaud the team that has made all this possible. Thank you for your part in our story. We hope you continue to walk this journey with us.
#YoungPeopleForYoungPeople
Humphrey Nabimanya Team Leader
OUR ACTIVITIES
Our activities From Year 2015
We strongly believe in the contribution of the young person and his / her role in designing campaigns and activities that are suited for him / her. A strong component in our programming is the creativity that stems from the input of the youth we work with. We believe that the youth understand what best works for them. One of my favorite activities this year was the “End Child Marriage” community dialogues. For me to physically be a part of the process to capture the 360 degree view of the adverse impact of early child marriages on the community and particularly the girls, and task all the relevant stakeholders at different levels of the community to play an active role in putting a stop to this vice reenergized my commitment to making a difference.
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Our work is making a difference and I’m happy to be an entity in this effort.
– Bakshi Asuman
Manager Programs, SRHR and Implementation
OUR ACTIVITIES
Our programming has evolved, and we’re ecstatic about our achievements this year. 1. Peer Educators Training; Our second class of peer educators has grown from 32 in 2014 to 67 participants in 2015 giving a total of 99 peer educators that are still actively involved in our activities since the commencement of the Peer Educators’ Academy.
47 girls / 52 boys
2. Focused Group Discussions; we carried out over 240 Focused Group Discussions in over 12 schools reaching approximately 2857 females and 939 males.
10-14
15-24
25+
F
M
F
M
F
M
1,287
267
1,502
636
66
36
1 Peer
Educator reached approximately
350 students
3. Outreaches – school / community; we carried out 12 school outreaches and 9 community outreaches and we directly reached over 17, 231 people
School
Community
F
M
6,125
4,225
6,881 people 4
ACTIVITY
OUR ACTIVITIES
4. Community Based Organization Partnerships; through the RAHU SRHR Youth Fund, we created partnerships with 4 grass root organizations in the districts of Wakiso, Mbarara, Mpigi and Jinja for the implementation of youth SRHR related activities to empower their community youth.
4
CBOs
UGX
120,000,000/= in seed funds to grass root organization
5. Online communication; we ran 12 online campaigns that reached approximately 2,337 users on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Online Campaigns 2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0
Feb
March
April
May
June
July
Aug/Sept
Oct/Nov
POSTS Users
#LoveDontHurt
#HackForYouth
#LetGirlsLead
#ItsNotOnItsNotSafe
#SexualityU18
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#IKnowKati
#MTVShuga4Ug
#FundSRHR #Midwives4All
#IKnowKati
Nov
Dec
Direct reach of online campaigns (000) 239,492 881,163
732,334 200,498
309,944
115,175 423,297
1,716,261
281,344 94,384
Feb
March
April
May
June
July
Aug/Sept
Oct/Nov
Nov
Dec
Direct reach of online campaigns (%) 4.8 17.7
14.7 4
6.2
2.3 8.5
34.4
5.6 1.9
Feb
March
April
78,780 (Reach A Hand Uganda pages)
May
June
July
Aug/Sept
3,996
TWITTER FOLLOWERS (Reach A Hand Uganda pages)
Oct/Nov
Nov
Dec
639
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS (Reach A Hand Uganda pages)
6
HISTORY
OUR ACTIVITIES
6. Newsletter sent out; 16 e-newsletter were sent out to our database of 6,801 which grew from 2,500 contacts in the course of this year. Our diverse e-newsletter readership has ensured that we keep our partners and wellwishers (in Uganda and beyond) up to date with our activities, successes and even shortcomings. We believe in a system of feedback and constant communication and our e-newsletter has helped us provide and in return, receive feedback from across borders. Our diverse readership varies from countries that include; Uganda, United States of America, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Kenya, South Africa and Denmark.
4,301 NUMBER OF NEW EMAIL CONTACTS
IN 2015
7. HIV Tests carried out and condoms distributed; together with multiple partners, HIV testing and counselling services were extended to 1,506 people throughout the year. 226,640 condoms were distributed to different communities in 2015.
Condom Distribution per type
8,700
Dec
FEMALE CONDOMS
Aug June April
217,940
Feb
MALE CONDOMS
0
7
10,000
20,000
30,000 Female
Male
40,000
50,000
60,000
Partnered activities
What makes our activities successful and the RAHU brand stand out is our innate ability to identify meaningful partners and build on co-existing synergies to derive mutual benefit for all parties involved. We believe in respect, learning and strength-matching while working with different partners. At the end of the day, a partnership with us means a common understanding of one another and a joint effort to achieve set targets.
Our valued partners have grown over the years and we continue to pursue more partners to boost our impact, sustainability and relevance to the communities we serve.
– Linda Mwesigwa,
Partnerships and Reputation Manager
Partnerships over the years 40
Number of Partners
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Years
8
OUR PARTNERED ACTIVITIES
Our Partnered activities 1. Hack For Youth Hackathon; on 21st July 2015, we partnered with UNFPA, Sana Mobile and MIT to bring young people from around the world, along with innovators, developers, partners and UNFPA experts for a three-day hackathon. Dubbed #HackForYouth, the hackathon was a collaborative event that aimed to have the participants develop mobile app solutions that promote young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. From this partnership, we’re proud to note that some of our 2015 Peer Educators’ Academy attendees have been taken on as key young people working on the project. Gift Mbabazi, Hope Kirabo, Emmanuel Kateregga and Monica Achen – we’re proud of you!
2. It’s Not On, It’s Not Safe; this campaign, an initiative of UNFPA through Uganda Health Marketing Group supported by us was intended to inspire and encourage young people take care of their health by practicing safer sexual behavior, making informed choices and choosing to be responsible citizens and make a change in their communities by using condoms correctly and consistently.
3. Mid wives for All;
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together with the Swedish Embassy in Uganda, this global initiative was scaled down as a campaign in Uganda whose aim was to highlight the vital role of midwives in fighting maternal and child mortality through increased awareness. The major objective of organizing and holding this discussion was to increase awareness of the midwifery profession amongst the young people, capture their opinions and feedback in regards to the same and to make it an
attractive career option for them. Broadly, it was organized to bring to the public the plight of the midwives in Uganda and how to improve this noble profession. Dubbed the “unsung heroes”, this campaign was further aimed at celebrating the brave people who’ve chosen to partake in this noble service.
4. Fund SRHR;
As a build up to the launch of the Rutgers Uganda Country office, Reach A Hand Uganda with support from Rutgers hosted a Tweetup dubbed #FundSRHR. A tweetup is a gathering / informal meeting of people who use the social messaging medium Twitter to communicate and share information. This was an opportunity to learn more about reproductive health, the need to increase its funding and Rutgers’ activities in Uganda, while they live-tweeted the discussion. Participants ensure that the discussion goes beyond the room and onto social media to create awareness beyond those attending. They also gathered the uprising questions from social media and tabled them for discussion.
5. Let Girls Be Girls Campaign to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy; With support from UNFPA Uganda,we hosted inclusive dialogues in communities across the country with the conversations transitioning to different online platforms. The dialogues featured a holistic engagement of key stakeholders on the issues of child marriage and teenage pregnancy and were held in the districts of Kanungu, Gulu, Moroto, Katakwi, Butaleja and Mubende. The on goings were transmuted onto Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. The campaign dialogues included men and boys involvement, which was paramount in addressing these SRHR challenges. Religious, cultural, opinion and district leaders were also involved.
1,192 PEOPLE REACHED
In the 4 months of the campaigns, we reached 1,192 people during the community dialogues."
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FINANCE AND GROWTH
Finance and growth One of the significant indicators of our growth has been the continued trust that our donors and partners have shown us. By funding our activities through in-kind and monetary channels, we’ve been able to expand our programming to reach more young people with information on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.
As we continue to grow, being stewards of this trust from all our partners is one of our utmost obligations, and we aim to continue managing it in the most responsible way possible
– Janet Kukundakwe, Finance Officer
Consolidated Income and Expenditure for 2015 Local Fundraising Rutgers (SautiPlus) Cordaid Rutgers (GYMO) Segal Family Foundation
40%
UNESCO UNFPA / CDFU UNFPA (Hack for Youth)
FROM LOCAL FUNDRAISING
MTV - SAF UHMG / UNFPA Rutgers (Story telling)
Note: Local Fundraising is inclusive of inkind partner support
DSW (GeNext) 0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
Expenditure (000)
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
Income (000)
2015 income comparison Income 2015
2014
11
0
500,000,000
1,000,000,000 Income
1,500,000,000
2,000,000,000
FAQs While fundraising and looking out for new funding opportunities, potential funders usually ask us the following questions;
What are your priorities as an organization? As an organization, we’re premised on empowering youth in Uganda, both urban and rural, to acquire information on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and demand for youth friendly health services that are accessible. Making a contribution, however minimal, to young people’s processes of making informed life choices is our ultimate goal.
Any in country partnerships? Our In country partnerships include; Events Warehouse, Pepsi, Standard Chartered Bank, Victoria University, International Health Sciences University, NBS Television, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda Health Marketing Group, Straight Talk Uganda, Reproductive Health Uganda, DSW, Pixel City, Addmaya.
What coalitions are you a part of? We are part of the SRHR Alliance in Uganda, the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality due to Unsafe Abortion as well as AfriYAN.
What funders have you had in the past? We’ve had the privilege to have various diverse funders support our work. These include; MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Rutgers, Segal Family Foundation, UNESCO, UNFPA, Cordaid.
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GROWTH OF THE TEAM
Growth of the team Even with a beautiful vision, there’s only so much you can achieve as an individual. With our goal in sight, a big contribution to getting closer to that goal has been the dedication of the core team here at RAHU. Each with a unique quality and skill, we’ve managed to chart through 2015 even stronger. The team has grown from 7 members in 2014 to 10 members by the end of 2015. Despite being a small and growing organization, ours is a dynamic, passionate and committed young team which believes in the power, potential and future of fellow youth.
If there’s a component of RAHU that I take pride in, it’s this team!
– Daphne Asiimwe
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Finance and Human Resource Manager
Humphrey Nabimanya GROWTH OF THE TEAM
FOUNDER AND TEAM LEADER
Daphne Asiimwe
FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER
Bakshi Asuman
MANAGER PROGRAMS, SRHR & IMPLEMENTATION
Ibrahim Batambuze
COMMUNICATIONS & ADVOCACY OFFICER
Maureen Andinda Gilbert Beyamba CHIEF OF STAFF
MANAGER PROGRAMS, MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING
Janet Kukundakwe FINANCE OFFICER
Linda Mwesigwa
Gift Mbabazi
PARTNERSHIP & REPUTATION MANAGER
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
14
15
16
17
“Prior to joining the RAHU Peer Educators’ Academy, I was a youth activist and I majorly spoke to young people in my community. I lacked knowledge on how to use social media in my advocacy work. In the Academy, I learnt about how
young people’s SRHR needs. I was empowered with skill and knowledge on how to use social media to advocate for Sexual Reproductive Health Rights for young people which has made me a very popular blogger. I have been exposed to opportunities where I can make a relevant contribution in advocating for better health services for young people as well as sharing information that can enable more youth to make informed life decisions. Opportunities such as these have been with; NGOs such as White Ribbon, UN-Women. Because of my presence on social media as a blogger and activist for youth SRHR needs, I am able to participate in events where I can ably share the concerns of young people with the relevant stakeholders, for example; the World Youth Day Celebrations, World Contraceptive Day, Kampala Youth Day celebrations as well as the Hack For Youth workshop. On my online pages, I can guide young people with the information they may need and I can refer them to the health centers where I’m certain they will be attended to and helped.
”
– Mark Muganga
Peer Educator, 2015
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Reach A Hand Uganda, Plot 7502, Block 244, Kitaranga - Ggaba road +256 (0) 414 697 037 info@reachahand.org www.reachahand.org /reachahand @reachahand /reach_a_hand /company/reach-a-hand-uganda /reach-a-hand /reachahanduganda /reachahanduganda /REACHAHANDUGANDA