Uganda, a nation of 45m people, has the second youngest population in the world with more than 78% of its citizens below the age of 35 years, and this youthful population is projected to double in the next 25 years. Presently, available data puts youth unemployment to between 64% and 70%. It is estimated that about 700,000 youths are released annually into the job market to compete for approximately 113,000 available jobs, and that over 30% of the youths who are institutionally qualified are unable to find jobs. The situation is worse for the uneducated and semi-educated youths. Youths who remain unemployed or underemployed and do not exploit their full potential, are often associated with high incidences of crime, gender based violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and gambling. Causes of youth unemployment are multifaceted ranging from inadequate supply side of jobs, lack of employable and job-creating skills, and high rates of labor force growth per annum. Other factors are poverty, and poor mind-set and attitudes. The youth are also often blind to opportunities around them.
To compound the problem, Uganda's historical focus on empowering the girl child has led to a skewed societal landscape, marked by challenges such as low self-esteem, high crime rate, widespread alcoholism and drug abuse, low productivity, and an increasing school dropout rates among boys. Socially, there is increasingly more failed marriages, dysfunctional families, and high incidences of Gender Based Violence (GBV). Statistical data from the Uganda Prisons Service reports indicates a stark gender disparity in incarceration rates, with male prisoners, mainly young men, accounting for nearly 95% of the prison population. Research has also shown that the majority of alcohol and drug abusers as well as admissions to drug rehabilitation centers are boys and young men. Factors that have led to the lagging behind of the boy child include exclusion of the boy child in the gender agenda, poverty, lack of necessary skills to create or secure employment, absence of role models and parental guidance in homes, peer pressure, societal changes in norms and values, and disintegration of the family unit.
Steps to Solution
Come November 2025, the Rotary Club of Kampala Ssese Islands in collaboration with 11 other Rotary clubs will start implementing a Rotary Foundation grant, GG2458302 worth US$162,334. The primary objective of this project is to empower 400 young men and women in Uganda, aged 18-35 years, by equipping them with the necessary skills, resources, and opportunities necessary to create sustainable livelihoods. The youth will be supported through mentorship and mindset change training, provision of hands-on vocational skills, and funding their business start-ups. The project will give priority to the uneducated and semi-educated youth, and will draw beneficiaries from the districts of Kampala, Wakiso, Kalangala, Kiboga, Mpigi, Arua, and Hoima. Skills and trades that match with the local labor market demands and self-employment, and which have shown growth and demand in the recent years will be prioritized. At the end of the skilling program which will last between 3 to 6 months depending on the enterprise, the youth will be organized into business groups. Each group will receive business start-ups in kind to set them off. Financial literacy and relevant business training will be provided to ensure the youth manage their new businesses successfully and profitably.
In addition, 80 youth (70% men and 30% women) will be identified from project locations and trained as champions for gender equality. The capacity building training will be in the form of skills, knowledge on GBV prevention and response and positive attitudes on gender equality, gender roles, and positive parenting. In Uganda, GBV is a widely known problem that is mainly perpetrated by men, including young men, and community members who tolerate negative masculine practices.
Project Implementation & Partners
Project implementation will be at Club level through the 12 participating Rotary Clubs. The participating Clubs are Kampala Ssese Islands, Kitante, Kyadondo, Upper Kololo, Gayaza, Kiboga, Manyangwa-Nakwero, Kasangati, Hoima-Kitara, Bukoto, Kira and Kitezi. Each Club will identify an average of 20 eligible youth from their localities to benefit from the project, and enlist and sign up reputable local workplaces where the youth will be attached to gain skills. The participating Clubs will also organize the youth into business groups to receive business start-ups, as well as link them to existing Government and community programs for additional support. A pool of trainers, mentors and coaches on mindset change and enterprise development, two from each participating Club, will be created to continue supporting and mentoring the youth.
The project will collaborate with a number of partners and stakeholders, including the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (ministry responsible for youth affairs), the 7 targeted District Local Government leaderships, cultural and religious institutions, and local community leaders. The project will also work with two cooperating organizations. The Man in Me will offer the mindset change training, mentorship program and the financial and business training while Magenta Girls Initiative, a women-led non-profit organization with boundless commitment to peacebuilding and combined experience of more than 25 years of creating and implementing effective interventions for vulnerable girls and women around the globe, will undertake the GBV prevention training.
The project is expected to have the following outcomes and benefits: - reduction in youth vulnerability to unemployment and poverty, lessen the widening gender gap between girls and boys, reduction in crime rate and engagement in illicit activities by young people, improved confidence and self-esteem, and reduction in gender-based violence.
Partner Roles and Responsibilities
D9213 as the host sponsor and RC Kampala Ssese Islands as the lead club, will have the primary oversight, coordination, and mobilization responsibilities for the project in the country. They will work with the 20 participating Clubs, the 2 cooperating organizations and other stakeholders to create awareness and mobilize participation in the project by beneficiaries; oversee and ensure successful implementation of the project; receive and manage grant funds; contract vendors and service providers; maintain communication with the international Rotarians, cooperating organizations, other stakeholders, and TRF; and work with international Rotarians to prepare the required Rotary Foundation reports. D9213 also contributed US$15,000 DDF and RC Kampala Ssese Islands US$10,000 cash towards the grant funding.
On the other hand, the participating Clubs will work with the 7 District Local Governments and community leaders to identify meriting youths to participate in the project; enlist and sign up reputable workplaces for youths’ attachment opportunities; organize the youth into business groups to receive business start-ups; link the youth to existing Government and community programs and projects in their localities for additional support; and oversee project implementation in their areas. They also contributed towards grant funding, and each Club will nominate 2 members to be trained as mentors and coaches on mindset change and enterprise development for continued support and mentorship to the youth.