UpClose Bulletin | April 2023

Greetings!

It is with great Pleasure that I welcome you to this April issue of the UPCLOSE!

At Rotary Vijana Poa, we are more than delighted to share with you what the team has been working on and to let you know the great projects being executed.

As our goal is to see “Every youth working”, many clubs that partnered with Rotary Vijana Poa in the Global Grant have with no doubt put this vision into action. Through the Global Grant, clubs have put up projects that have literally raised the youths from knowing nothing to learning a skill that can help them earn a living as you will see some of the projects in this issue.

Rotary Vijana Poa is not only stopping on this Global Grant but will be having it every year and so many clubs will continue getting support to have such projects run in their communities.

Its our responsibility as leaders to show the youths these opportunities. To guide them until they are able to stand on their way. That way we will be able to reduce the unemployment gap and the high crime rate among the youths. MEBRA LWABAAYI

VICE CHAIR ROTARY VIJANA POA- PAG

Rotary builds confidence and Competence of 120 vulnerable women and youths through the Rotary Mbale Vijana Poa skilling project at Covenant Bible Institute.

An amazing project built on a community economic development model based on peer led skilling where instructors from low socioeconomic backgrounds impart skills amongst women and youth was funded through a Rotary Foundation Global Grant #2122070.

A partnership between Rotary Club of Mbale District 9213 and Rotary Club of La Jolla District 5340 aimed at providing technology and employment education to the youth population in Mbale, Uganda, to enable and advance economic empowerment. The project commenced in 2022 and involved the establishment of a public technology hub called “Rotary Vijana Poa Mbale Technology Hub” at the Covenant Bible Institute of Theology Mbale, Uganda. The hub provides free ICT computer training classes and a Women’s Empowerment Program, which includes classes on women’s rights,

gender-based violence, reproductive health, and entrepreneurship skills (ICT, Tailoring, Hand Craft, and Hairdressing) to the less privileged youth aged 18-35 years, with the purpose of fighting unemployment among the youth of Mbale City.

The project has since its inauguration passed out 120 students graduating from different fields including ICT, Tailoring, Hand Craft, and Hairdressing. The Graduation Ceremony took place on Friday, 17th March 2023, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, under the theme “Harnessing Youth Entrepreneurship through Skilling.” The event featured several speakers, including PAG Sydney Nsubuga the primary contact person, who expressed confidence that the graduates with the skills obtained through training and the mindset change would build a new breed of the world’s leaders through entrepreneurship and women empowerment. The program focuses on one of the seven Rotary Areas of Focus, economic and community development, with the main objective of providing young people with the necessary skills to transform their communities through entrepreneurship and mindset change to enable younger persons to identify and seize opportunities in their communities.

This program beneficiaries are younger persons from all walks of life, including single mothers and youth. The organizers expressed confidence that the attendees could use the skills and knowledge acquired through the program to promote Rotary and the program, enabling more individuals to acquire these skills and benefit from them. The instructors, the Byoosi team, and the Rotary were also acknowledged for their contributions to the program.

The graduates expressed joy and gratitude towards the organizers for the opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge. They are poised to establish an alumni association to strengthen their social security through a savings scheme and revolving fund. “This is the best thing that has occurred to me in my life, and I am seeing myself changing my family through putting the acquired skills to use. Long live Rotary International.” Said one of the beneficiaries of the training program.

We congratulate the 120 graduates on their achievement and encourage them to continue to create opportunities for themselves and others in their community. We wish the new 355 entrants goodluck in their journey to transformation. Our goal is delivering “Cool Youth” (Vijana Poa) and ensuring “every youth working.”

Youths that graduated at the Rotary Vijana Mbale Hub

Rotary Club of Kampala North

Rotary Vijana Poa Project

The Rotary club Kampala North together with Rotaractors (RCKN) empowered youths in mind set change and enterprise development. 200 youths from Kamwokya Ghetto trained in different handson skills (Catering, Tailoring & fashion, Videography, Soap making, Hairdressing). For a period of one month January 2023.

The training took place at Kamwokya Community Centre. 150 Youths were awarded with certificates and tools were handed over to support the continual with the economic enterprise development for Youths in the area. The 50 youths that were unable to graduate were encouraged to continue with the trainings at Kamwokya Community Centre. All youths in the community are at liberty to access the tools and learn.

PDG John Magezi Ndamira graced the occasion and advised the youths not to take what they have learnt for granted but instead put it into practice because its what will earn them a living.

Rotary club of Najjera in partnership with the Najjera Sacco have empowered delivering the training to the youth in Najjera community through Rotary Vijana Poa Global Grant .

Desperation and destitution are driving people to crime, drugs, and militias that fuel the increasing vicious spiral of violence and instability in many African countries. It is not lack of opportunity, or just lack of jobs (though also recognised as a major challenge), but blindness to opportunity, a focus on white collar jobs produced by the education systems, and near absence of high-level competence in artisan work.

Therefore, it’s from that Rotary Club of Najjera partnered with Najjera Sacco to mainly change the mindset of the over 50 targeted youth to see available opportunities of commercial value within their areas hence help them to create sustainable enterprises that will support them earn a living.

PDG John Magezi launching the liquid soap making business for the youth in Kamwokya (Left) | PDG John Magezi Giving out videography and photography equipment to the youth in Kamwokya (Right)

Rotary club of Najjera in partnership with the Najjera Sacco delivering the training to the youth in Najjera community.

Disability is not Inability

Rotary Club of Nalya and Bandera Farmers Network Taking Hope to Teenage

Mothers

They have selected them to have an opportunity go through the mindset change to help them change the way they look at themselves and taken them on a mentorship journey that will see them transform into great business men and women.

Special thanks to Rtn Farouk Kibaba and Rtn Afan Abdallah of this great club for the support and being visionary to creating an enabling environment to transform society.

At the inception of the project, there was lost hope in the teenage mothers, youth and leaders on how they can transform their communities with passion. To the change currently, it’s evidenced that joy within people is the first community transformation you can ever create, seeing people generating happiness for themselves and hoping tomorrow may be guaranteed and great again is a win.

The youth formed groups and initiated a project for making shoes which generates income to the group and ensures continuity of togetherness, these youth report that the trainings have been life changing since they are able to generate money as a group and in the near future, they will be able to have individual incomes that will support their families.

Group savings as part of the activities being carried out, the group initiated saving 400 ugx every week, they hope to increase the amount of money to be saved every week so that they can have more money to inject into their shoe making business. Special thanks to the Rtn Fathila Nanozi for the dedication to support the support the activities on behalf of her Rotary Club.

The youth supported by Rotary Club of Kasese Snow peak having a light moment after the Enterprise Development and Mindset Change training

The Rotary Club of Kasese Snow Peaks in Partnership with the great lakes Peace Center through the Rotary Vijana Poa Global Grant have speared headed to support the highly under looked people with disability in our community.

An RVP Tailoring workshop for the youthe being supported by the Rotary Club of Sseguku (Top Right) | A youth with disability operating a popcorn machine (Top Left) | Youths now operating a tailoring business (Bottom Left) | Youth attached to Equator Engineering Works for employment (Bottom Right)